I met Liam during my Safety Town program in 2014. Liam was four years old, and survived a liver transplant at a very young age which left him with a limited diet. Despite these complications, his energy was unbridled and he understood his situation in a very mature manner. He did not seem to mind that he could not have a popsicle while his friends were enjoying them. Somehow, Liam has become my symbol of perseverance and inspiration to fight my own chronic illness. When I was first diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, an inflammatory bowel disease, I let the news negatively impact me. Overwhelmed with everything that was going on I started pushing myself away. Although I believed myself to be very unlucky, it was when instructing Liam, that I realized I should not be looking at the negatives, but rather, at the positives. Meeting someone else with a similar health related struggle has allowed me to look into my own life and understand more about myself.
Being seen as fragile and different in my family affected my outlook. My parents were always there to make me feel as strong as I could, but even we could not change the negativity of my extended family. This constant differentiation led to me leading a life of apathy, with the world moving on without me. The world and everyone in it would take one step forward while I moved a few steps backwards. And then
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Yes this ideology took time to adjust to, but this shift in mindset allowed for me to slowly change for the better. Why should my condition define me? Others have fought bigger battles and have survived. If Liam could do it, I could too. It was through Liam that I became inspired to become a better leader, to put aside my problems, and to remain strong when faced with obstacles in life. It was through Safety Town that my life started changing for the