07/26/2025
She beat the odds. Now sheās building bridges of belonging. š
At just 13 months old, my brain was swollen, I was in a coma. My parents clung to their faith, praying I would wake up.
Doctors gave me a 20% chance, but that was more than enough with God who had other plans. After surviving meningitis, the journey was far from over.
Resilience begins small. Endurance begins early.
Long before Kindergarten, I was learning how to exist in a world that didnāt yet understand me. In preschool, I was navigating countless tests, screenings, and early behavioral challenges.
A trip to Memphis confirmed profound-severe hearing loss. That diagnosis shifted everything. But what came next would define more than just my story.
I became the first hearing impaired student in my county-wide school district to attend public schoolābefore the ADA and Section 504. My parents fought for my right to be mainstreamed.
[šø # 6 with my first grade teacher who wore the first microphone while I wore a receiver so I could keep up with the lessons and hear EVERYthing from the potty breaks to kids going to the officeā¦and also she shared with my parents, āthe students put hearing aids on their Christmas wishlistā].
It takes a village. Advocates shape the future.
My parents werenāt the only champions. Teachers, mentors, friends and my community rallied around me. They showed me what inclusion could look like long before the law required it.
Now, at 44, I use that experience to elevate spaces with joy, advocate for inclusive living and travel, and help families navigate life with ease and confidence.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signed on July 26, 1990 paved the way for so many of us in our country. But the work isnāt over.
Letās keep expanding what access looks like. Letās widen the doorsāand the possibilitiesāfor everyone.
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