My Childhood with Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy

When I was first diagnosed with Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy at the age of 10 my life really didn’t change that much. The only thing I really noticed is that I just couldn’t keep up with other children my age, but it really didn’t bother me that much. Even as a child most of the time I kept a positive attitude about things, sure I had trouble running which limited my ability to participate in team sports, I just didn’t let it get to me. After all I was still able to walk, ride my bike, play with my friends and even climb stairs with minimal issues, so as far as I was concerned I felt perfectly fine. Now even though I still faced issues with my legs giving out on me, whenever I suffered a slip or fall I just dusted myself off, got back up and kept on going.

  The only time Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy really affected me was when it came to running - which at the time meant I couldn’t participate in team sports - especially when it came to school and gym class. Most times this resulted in me having to sit on the sidelines watching the other children play. I know it’s sad to say but as a child being left out during school activities was normal to me. Sure it wasn’t fun but inclusion for people of all abilities didn’t exist back in the 80’s - it wasn’t even on the schools radar.

But thankfully my childhood and experience with team sports wasn’t all bad, I actually remember a time before my diagnosis when I played on one of my local children’s soccer teams. At this point I already noticed the issue’s I was having keeping up, long story short I came up with the strategy of hanging around the opposing team’s net waiting for the right moment when the ball might come my way. At one point this actually paid off when one of my teammates kicked the ball my way and I scored my one and only goal. A real highlight for me as a child but eventually I had to stop playing due to my inability to run.

 Thankfully as a child I had friend’s outside of school who understood my limitations who were willing to make adjustments to games so I could still play – this was truly amazing as I was able to feel like a part of a team. For example, whenever we would play baseball a friend of mine would end up running for me, which to this day still means a lot to me. Now when it came to school and participating in gym class it was never easy but eventually after my mom spoke with the school - when needed I was exempt from having to take part in any of the physically demanding activities. This was great but still there were times during my childhood which led to a bit of frustration especially when all my friends started jumping over fences and climbing trees.

It was tough at times to accept but there were many points throughout my childhood when I had no choice but to accept the fact that there were just certain things I couldn't do. This meant that a large portion of my childhood was spent learning what my limitations were and doing my best to not go beyond that. I am happy to say that most days I would do my best to keep a positive attitude about things - no matter what happened. I have always felt like there's really nothing wrong with being different, and that it's just better to try and accept the fact that you have this, and to try and enjoy life as much as possible even throughout all the challenges.

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“What I enjoyed most about my childhood.”