I Have A Genetic Disorder | The Odyssey Online
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Health and Wellness

I Have A Genetic Disorder

And it does not define me.

Jessica Tingley
May 03, 2016
Union University
48
I Have A Genetic Disorder
Good Free Photos

I have a learning disability; the technical term being ADHD/ADD. I have depression. I have had a seizure. I have vision problems. I have scoliosis. I have "spots" all over my body. I have had multiply MRIs. What do all of these things have in common. I can tell you in one word. Neurofibromatosis (NF). It is okay if you do not know what that means or what that is, quite frankly I did not not either until about a year or two ago. I knew that I had some sort of genetic disorder that caused me to have what is called cafe au lait spots all over me, but I knew nothing else about it.

When I was three years old the doctors thought I had NF but were not quite certain yet, that is until I had my full-blown seizure. Though NF comes with having many side effects that make me slightly different from everybody else, that does not mean I am less. I have only told a selected few people about my genetic disorder, because I feared people would view me differently or that they would baby me. I was treating my disorder like some dirty little secret, when the fact of the matter is that God made me to have this disorder for a purpose. My genetic disorder does not define who I am. In the Bible it says "I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." The Bible does not say I am fearfully and wonderfully made as long as I do not have a genetic disorder. I am the way I am, and I am learning to praise God for that. God does not make mistakes. One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11. It reads, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."' This is an amazing verse. God does not have plans that would harm you, He loves us and made us they way we are supposed to be.

If anyone who as any sort of disorder is reading this I want you to know that your disorder is nothing you should be ashamed of, it is not something to always keep a secret.

Your disorder does not define you, it is just something you have to learn to live with. Live it out with this in mind: You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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