This was me in kindergarten, dressed in my tiny school uniform.  I didn’t know at the time, but I was already standing my ground, waiting for the obstacles ahead… unafraid.

Ricky - Child - Schoolboy - 001

Aunt Clara used to love correcting my homework.  It always ended in an argument when I yelled back because there was attitude to my madness.  Silly perhaps, but my fighting mode gave me the upper hand in overcoming my physical disability.

To this day, despite having Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and despite the falling, losing my walk, eventually the wheelchair, and breathing on a machine, I remain here.  When you have that mentality, nothing can stop you.  The human body is nothing more than an external constituent of your individual self, but when you harness your strongest inner energy to your advantage, you become more.

When I was diagnosed with DMD at six years old, I only cared about the ice cream my parents promised following the muscle biopsy.  I knew there was something wrong, having all those tests, but wasn’t worried.  Somewhere inside, I was always ready for the future to come.

I knew; I was convinced that if I kept fighting, no matter how much the weakness prevailed, it would someday go away.

Why do we fight?

Sometimes, I hardly know why I continue.  This disease keeps taking and I’m growing weary, but I’m one of the oldest living individuals at thirty-four years old.  I must be doing something right!  I fight because life is also a destination.  I intend on seeing it.