Monday, November 12, 2012

Growing up with Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy as a teenager

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When it came to life as a teenager living with Becker Muscular Dystrophy for some reason even though there were things I still couldn't do I never let them me down. Growing up I was lucky to have some great friends. I would join them in playing pool at the local billiards and almost every day we would go to a mall known as the Pickering Towne Centre. I would even attend summer camp and in my early teens actually went to a place known as Circle Square Ranch where I took part in a three week Leaders in Training program. As you can see I wasn’t always limited by Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy. Now I’m not saying my life was easy, physically there were thing I couldn’t do but I didn't focus on them. You see when I was a teen I had many different hobbies that ended up helping me get through the tough times. Growing up I was really into cars and collected car magazines, brochures and even die-cast cars. At one point it was even my dream to become a car designer. Most days were spent drawing up my own designs and some of best came from doodling during class in high school. I was also really into music and that also took up a big part of my time. At one point in my life I was actually pursuing a career in music when I was a member of a hip-hop group known as the Urban Prophets. Sadly my dreams of becoming a recording artist never materialized but hey anything can still happen right? Looking back I am very thankful that I was always able to focus on what made me happy and it helped me immensely. Sure I was unable to play sports or pursue my dream of becoming a professional race car driver but looking back I really have nothing to complain about. Throughout my teens I was out there enjoying my life hanging out with friends. Growing up as a teen like many people my only goal was to have as much fun as possible and this usually involved staying up late and sometimes returning home in the middle of the night. So if you are a parent or someone recently diagnosed with Becker Muscular Dystrophy just get out there and enjoy life. The best advice I can give you is to just focus on the things in life you can do and I guarantee you like me you'll find a way to enjoy your teens. Just know you’re not the only one going through this and if you need someone to talk to you have the support of those of us living with Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy - including me.



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