When I first started sharing my story it was a few years after suffering a life altering work-related injury. It was after spending two years on modified duties without seeing any improvement to my condition, even with physiotherapy I had to make the tough decision to stop working. In a way it was forced resulting from workers comp cutting me off directly after they decided to blame my injury on the fact that I had muscular dystrophy. This was very frustrating especially since I was originally told that call centre work was best suited to those with disabilities, but all I got out of it was a repetitive strain injury in the form of tendonitis, something that still today if I over do it can leave me suffering from excruciating pain.
When I had to stop working this had a major impact on my finances, it also meant a return to receiving income support through the Ontario Disability Supports Program. A flawed program which due to current regulations actually ends up punishing those with disabilities - especially if we are married. Long story short the way it’s currently set up results in financial hardship thanks to the unfair way they treat spousal earnings. It simply keeps those with disabilities from contributing to their household placing the entire financial burden on the spouse without the disability. A practice that seems to be set up to discourage able bodied people from being in a loving relationship with someone who has a disability in the province of Ontario. While I am thankful for the support offered through ODSP major changes are still needed, one’s that once and for all end the discriminatory way they treat those of us who are married.
So with a major drop in income and an inability to work I had a lot of extra time on my hands. After having my injury blamed on me having Becker Muscular Dystrophy out of curiosity I started searching to read other peoples stories. I wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this as well. Without any luck finding other peoples stories this resulted in me wanting to share mine, just to see if this might connect me with someone else living with Becker Muscular Dystrophy. This is when I came up with the name of My Becker’s Story - the original plan was to just have one post that took you from my diagnosis at age 10 up into my mid-thirties. Eventually someone else with Becker MD left a comment on my original blog post saying; “Wow….It’s just so similar to my BMD story it’s remarkable to read.” Eventually I shared my frustration with people constantly judging me for not looking disabled enough to use accessible parking. This led to many more blog posts and like they say the rest is history.
A year later my sister made me aware of the Durham Region Walk for Muscular Dystrophy, this after seeing an article about the upcoming fundraising event in our local newspaper. So I registered online creating Team Brad having my friends and family join in support of my journey with Muscular Dystrophy. A true highlight was meeting others affected by MD. It helped me feel less alone. It truly was a positive experience, and since I was no longer working I joined the planning committee for next year's event. I was involved in promoting the event and reaching out to local businesses for prize donations. It felt good to be supporting such a great cause especially one in support of those like me living with Muscular Dystrophy. Eventually this led to me wanting to come up with my own charity effort which resulted in me founding Laps for Muscular Dystrophy - something I am passionate about since it allows me to combine my love of motor sports with raising awareness. It truly is all about having a positive impact on others affected by this life altering muscle-wasting disorder.
Now I think we can all admit that having a purpose in life is very important. See I never thought I’d suffer a work-related injury, so when my career came to an end at first I had no clue what I was going to do. But like most we simply have to adapt when our lives take us in a different direction. Looking back now I know if this never happened that the My Becker’s Story blog and even LAPS4MD wouldn’t exist. Without life forcing me down another path I wouldn't have made so many new friends or have been able to work with race drivers and teams in raising funds to improve the lives of those living with Muscular Dystrophy.
The truth is life with a disability isn’t always easy and that is why from the start I’ve always shared my story openly and honestly, possibly at times sharing too much - but how else are people going to learn about what it’s really like living with Muscular Dystrophy. So as I continue aging with Becker Muscular Dystrophy I will continue sharing every part of My Becker Story, holding nothing back including each defeat along with every victory. As I believe complete honesty when sharing our stories can influence change in the way people view and treat those of us with disabilities.
So if you are new to My Becker's Story please join me as I take an informative look at life with Becker Muscular Dystrophy. I’ve tried my best to make it easy to read my story - simply use the tabs above where you will find blog posts taking a look at accessibility, employment and disability - along with my struggles with anxiety and the other challenges I face and so much more!