Hi everyone, my name is Josulyn Salsbury.  I am 15 years old, and I have a disability.  I've had migraines since I was about 9 years old, but was a typically developing girl.  Then, when I was in the 8th grade, I had mononucleosis and was very sick.  I had daily headaches and sometimes I would get dizzy.  At the end of that year, I was so dizzy that I couldn't walk and I became very weak and had to use a wheelchair to get around.  It lasted for a couple of months and then I was the normal me- walking, hanging out with my friends, and feeling pretty good.  Last year, it all began again, only this time, it was worse.  At one point, I could not move any of my limbs and was totally reliant upon others for everything. Thankfully, I have made some improvement.  I currently have sensation loss over most of my body, am blind in one eye and don't see very well out of the other, and I have leg paralysis, so I am in a wheelchair.  My disability is kind of complicated, though, because the doctors don't really know what it is. They think that I have a neurological autoimmune disorder. I have also been diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder due to my medical issues.  Although my brain is currently structurally okay, my neurons are misfiring and may be making some of my symptoms worse.

It has been really hard to go from a typically functioning teenager to one with a disability, and I have had a really hard time coming to terms with it and getting the accommodations I need. I lost most of my friends, am bullied, have been treated like a small child, and many other injustices have been done to me. I have dealt with these problems by accepting my disability as part of me and acknowledging that the people that are bullying me are just ignorant about disability because they have never been educated about it. I have also had help coping with my disability by having a therapist and through the support of my family and friends. I have received many great services from Family Service and Guidance Center.

My life has been drastically changed since the onset of my disability, for the good, but also for the not so good. I have seen who were fake friends and real friends and have made a few friends that accept me for who I am. I have gotten involved with the disability community and I have faced injustices that have made me a stronger person.

Some tips I have for handling a new disability are to be patient and positive. I think those are the two most important things because, if you aren't patient, you may get upset with yourself because improvements may take longer than expected... even small improvements may take a long time. I also think positivity is a really important thing because the improvement you make may not always be huge progress, or even noticeable to others, but rather, a small positive step in the healing process, such as, in my case, a tingling sensation in my fingers, where before, there was no sensation at all.  Remember, the old saying, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" and see the positive in everything, making the best of every situation.  I hope that you have a great day and stay positive!