My youngest little sister was born with spina bifida as well as hydrocephalus. She's about ten years younger than I am and she's only 11 now. She can't feel anything below her waist as has weak abdominals so she's completely dependent on our mother (who I don't live with due to having divorced parents). Because she basically can't go anywhere without our mom, she has a hard time making friends and can get really frustrated with... just life as a whole. She's extremely self-conscious about her appearance and worries that she burdens people with her presence. As her biggest older sister (there's another one of us girls about 3.5 years younger than me) she really looks up to me. A lot. As such, I try my very best to encourage her and remind her that, no matter what, she's still just a really great kid. I have a hard time making friends and got bullied a lot so in some ways I can find the things to tell her, but I feel like I could never * truly* understand what it's like for her. I guess the question I'm trying to get around to is... can you think of anything you wish someone had told you when you were a kid? Or is there anything someone told you that really helped you through hard times? Really, just any advice I could give her that would make any difference.
Also, thank you very much for being open and doing this AMA! :)
icantfeelmymouth2 karma
My youngest little sister was born with spina bifida as well as hydrocephalus. She's about ten years younger than I am and she's only 11 now. She can't feel anything below her waist as has weak abdominals so she's completely dependent on our mother (who I don't live with due to having divorced parents). Because she basically can't go anywhere without our mom, she has a hard time making friends and can get really frustrated with... just life as a whole. She's extremely self-conscious about her appearance and worries that she burdens people with her presence. As her biggest older sister (there's another one of us girls about 3.5 years younger than me) she really looks up to me. A lot. As such, I try my very best to encourage her and remind her that, no matter what, she's still just a really great kid. I have a hard time making friends and got bullied a lot so in some ways I can find the things to tell her, but I feel like I could never * truly* understand what it's like for her. I guess the question I'm trying to get around to is... can you think of anything you wish someone had told you when you were a kid? Or is there anything someone told you that really helped you through hard times? Really, just any advice I could give her that would make any difference.
Also, thank you very much for being open and doing this AMA! :)
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