Wednesday, September 28, 2011

It all starts ...

This is my very first BLOG ... ever.  I'm not exactly sure what i should talk about. I'll first talk about my life i guess ..

 I was born with Spinal Bifida (Mylo), The L4 - 5 part of my spine was crooked, and my spinal cord was /is exposed out of the column. However, I was one of the "Lucky ones" .. Lucky? really?  That's what the doctors kept telling me.  And after thinking about it, I guess I am.  They told my parents that I wouldn't live past 3 years old. 3 went by, then 5, 15,30, 41!  They were 38 years off their first prediction.  Now i am reading statistics about people with my disability, and now the average mortality rate is 40 - 42 years old.  So now I have a new number to beat.

I use crutches to walk. I also own a wheelchair, and use that for long distances.  I have a Below the knee amputated right leg.  My left leg will not bend, and is paralyzed from knee down.  I can move it a little, but for the most part, doesn't bend.   I have a dislocated hip, I had brain surgery, Gastric Bypass, and about 33 more surgeries since I was born. The Gastric bypass :  I was 307 pounds, and 5'2.  now i weigh in at about 135 pounds.  It still has it's complications, 6 years later.   I'll go into that in ather blog ... later.

I work in Radio.  I have been in radio since I was 19. And I've always known that I was going to be on the air.  Since I was a kid, pretending to interview my family with the tape recorder. Being in Broadcasting is different then people think.  It's always changing with the times, and sometimes it's VERY hard to get a job in the industry.  Many of the Major Market stations are owned by the same company, and if you try to get a job in one and do not get hired, that's 4 other stations you automatically don't get interviewed for, because they have already seen you .. it's frustrating .. More on that later on my next blog. 

That's it for now ... more to come. I have a lot to talk about, and maybe help someone out with THEIR disability.  

Thanks for reading my First Blog!