Let your story make you strong

Greetings, Jhana's supporters! This is your writer and disability advocate, Jhana. I hope that everyone is doing well and that their new year is going well so far. January 1st flew by, and January 4th arrived. This year seems to be going by just as quickly as the last. 

No matter how big or tiny, everyone has a story to tell. I've made the decision to keep telling my story my way this year. I am the best one to convey my story, after all. The same is true for you. 

My tale started the day I was born, but I didn't fully share it until the year I nearly passed away in 2016. I would have to start from the beginning of my story for you to comprehend it. 

Since my adolescent years, I have not visited a neurosurgeon. The surgeon informed my family that I would require a shunt revision when I was 18, but since I was not displaying any symptoms, they decided it wasn't essential to avoid brain trauma. 

However, I began exhibiting indications and symptoms of a shunt malfunction when I was 26 years old. I nearly tumbled down the stairs or while walking down the road because of my migraines and dizziness. My new neurosurgeon informed me in the middle of July that it was time for a shunt revision because I had had one for 26 years. I had to decide as a result. I had two options: I could stop smoking, go through with my operation, and survive, or I could continue smoking, and not go through with my surgery, and die. I therefore gave up smoking and scheduled a surgery, but not before completing my MRI the day before the procedure. I then had a consultation with the doctor to discuss what would happen if I had the surgery. 

I didn't discuss my handicap with others or act as an advocate. I didn't feel at ease discussing my condition until I met my fiancé at the age of 27. He was the first person to whom I truly confided my entire life narrative. Although I used to be upfront about my impairment, I never came to terms with it and I never spoke up about it. I didn't begin speaking up for other people with disabilities until I was 28 years old. 

I want to keep blogging, creating Vlogs, and restarting my podcast in order to carry out my advocacy work this year. The moral of the story is that by sharing your experience, you will become stronger since you won't feel the need to measure yourself against other people. And with any luck, this story  may encourage you to share your own stories without fear. 

I'm glad to be speaking up, and I hope this site is useful to you. That concludes today's blog post; I'll talk to you later.