Getting to know me.

Hi, I'm Kendra. I'm not like most 15 year olds. I was born with muscular dystrophy. This means that my muscles develop much slower than normal teenagers. I'm very lucky to have a minor case of it, as most kids with muscular dystrophy are in wheelchairs and I can walk. The type I have is called central core disease. Everyone has small pouches of calcium (not the kind in milk, cheese, etc.) that release energy when they need it such as for running, climbing stairs, sports, or any physical activity. My calcium pouches constantly leak, so when I need a burst of energy, I don't have a source to get it from. I struggle with walking long distances, carrying/lifting heavy things, stairs, running, jumping, and most other physical activities. But this does not stop me from living my life and trying new things. There is no way for me to build up my muscles because if I lift weights or work out, my muscles break down and don't rebuild themselves stronger like everyone else's do. Because I have no muscles, I am extremely skinny, almost all skin and bones. It's super hard to find pants/shorts to fit because my legs are skinny and long but we deal with it and get some altered, or look until we do find some to fit.

 

Besides the muscle disease, I was born with severe scoliosis. Scoliosis is while most people's spines are straight, mine is curved. So as my spine grows, it grows at a curve. This pushes my ribs in my back outward so I have a "rib hump" on the left side of my back. When I was 7, I had surgery for scoliosis. But that's a different story. I don't consider myself different from my classmates. Sometimes I get embarrassed or self concious of my different body appearance, but most of the time this is how I've been my whole life and I know being upset about it is not going to change things. I have to accept myself for the way I am and know that my true friends will do the same.