I am rare. I am rare, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
I live with one of the most debilitating diseases known to medicine. I am literally growing a second skeleton and turning into a living statue. I have Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva or FOP for you weaklings who can’t pronounce it (I’m with you because it’s a mouthful). And yet here I am, living my best life.
Are there things I wish I could change? Absolutely, and maybe (hopefully) one day, there will be a treatment that allows some things to change. But don’t mix that up, I wouldn’t trade my life. I was given this mountain to show others that it can indeed [and will] be moved.
Is my life hard? Yes. Am I constantly in a sh*t ton of pain? Hell yes. All. The. Time. But, this is me. I’m not going to mold to your stereotypes. I’m going to fight my way through life and show you that I am more than my disability. I’m not going to sit back and let you walk all over me or tell me what I’m going to do or how I’m going to do it– try me, I dare you. FOP will never define me. I will fight it with every second of every day. I’m living in a world that wasn’t built for me, but here I am thriving.
Without FOP, I wouldn’t have met the amazing people & families that deal with this beast of a disease. I wouldn’t get the chance to film with Barcroft Media to educate the world about FOP (stay turned for the release date!!!). I wouldn’t have met the most amazing team of doctors fighting to free me from my own body. I wouldn’t have my service dogs or met their amazing puppy raisers & getting connected with Canine Companions for Independence. I also got some pretty cool opportunities because of my disease like a Make-A-Wish trip to the Bahama’s or meeting Kelly Clarkson.
I am rare, but I am more- more than the disease, more than the stereotypes, and more than your opinion of me.
I am sassy. I am loving. I am a fighter. I am optimistic. I am silly. I am picky (very picky). I am caring.
And most importantly… I am more like you than you [probably] think.
Carli Lyn 