My disability is my strength and superpower

Being born with a progressive, incurable, invisible, muscle-wasting and neurological disability called Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease 4C has had its fair share of challenges — but it has shaped and made me the person I am today. I wouldn't change that for anything; I feel very lucky and consider myself born to be different.

Throughout my life I have never let my disability stop me from living and enjoying the life I want to lead and being independent. From a very young age I have enjoyed helping people and comforting them through challenging times — whether a friend, a family member or someone I did not know through my years of voluntary work with different charities. When people ask what I do for a living, I have the privilege of saying: I make a difference to people's lives through positive mindset, education, teaching, coaching and mentoring — helping them be the best version of themselves for their teams and customers.

I thoroughly enjoy my work and the organisation and team I'm part of — one that welcomes me to truly bring my whole self to work. That hasn't always been the case throughout my career. I have not always been accepted for the way I look on the outside. Although my disability is invisible, there are times I have had to make the invisible visible — through ankle splints, trainers with room for my orthopaedic insoles, and my back brace. At work I use a footrest, an ergonomic chair with lower lumbar support, and most recently a voice amplifier when delivering coaching sessions, because of my voice fatigue.

This is where I use my superpower to help educate and drive change in the workplace. Leading a Disability Network gave me the chance to help drive the change I wanted to see. The network is a community with a mission to create an environment where people feel comfortable to talk about their disabilities or health conditions. It is a network that becomes the voice for others who have not yet discovered their inner strength and power to speak up — with a strong focus on educating and raising awareness of people with different abilities through their personal stories.

Our focus should be on an individual's ability and intelligence — not on their disability, or the way they look or sound. Disability or not, we all have the ability to grow within and make the difference we want to see around us. There is a superhero inside all of us, waiting to be discovered.