“I was at the peak of what I assumed would be the rest of my life as a young creative in Toronto. Then, I started blowing up like Violet in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The next thing I knew, I was under the disco-ball surgical light in the operating room, counting down from ten.”
“I was the ‘tomboy’ who always wanted to wear pants and pull my long hair back so I could hide it. I didn’t like the way my clothes fit my body. I grew up desperately trying to fit in and meet people’s standards.”
“Writing finally began the journey of coming to terms with my identity issues and not letting it consume me.”
“When I was 19 years old, I met my first love Jake. And at 24 years old, I stood by his hospital bed as he tragically passed away from brain cancer.”
“Some days I’m not really sure if I killed my husband or not. I certainly have been accused of it by a handful of people. Family members and close friends have said painful things like, ‘You left him when he needed you most,’ or, ‘He gave up the moment you kicked him out.'”
“Ableism is like everyone grew wings except you. They became so used to having wings they stopped building stairs and elevators. No one believes you can’t fly, so they refuse to accommodate — asking if you deserve it and complaining it’s too expensive.”
“I still could barely move. ‘What on earth was she thinking having a baby?’ None of it mattered to me. I was too busy in love with my little miracle.”
“How could this be happening when everything had been so normal for the last 34 weeks? Concerned. That word still haunts me. We were almost done with the pregnancy, and to just find out something was abnormal was tough to process.”
“’What if no one accepts our babies?’ Mark looked me right in the eye and said, ‘WE will accept our babies! We will love them just like we would any other baby, and Lyndi will love them both just as much. This is our little family. They will be perfect!’”
“I received my 11th concussion playing volleyball. Previously, I had 10 concussions from child abuse. My comorbidities and symptoms increased to the point I had to take mandatory bed rest.”
