I'm writing to you because I want other kids to know that life is what you make of it. Each one of us is an individual person...no two the same. And *no one* is perfect. Take me for instance!

I am 39 years old and when I was about 8 months old I was diagnosed with having polio. My mom tells me that  I started to walk when I was about 2 years old. Soon I wore leg braces and a back brace and I used canes to help me walk. When I started school I 'had graduated' to wearing one full length leg brace on my right leg and a half length one, to my knee, on my left. 

Kids were mean to me, and I didn't have a best friend 'til I was in the sixth grade. I lived in a small town where there were not a lot of 
kids with visible problems, though there was another boy in school had polio, too. 

I grew up with four brothers, three older and one younger. It was 
because of them that I learned to be tough. I can take a lot. My mom and dad raised me just like the rest of the kids and they let me find my own strengths. I learned that I could usually find a way to overcome most anything that blocked me.

I feel that I am very fortunate to have my life and I must say that I'm proud of myself! I'm married now, I have two kids, and I live on a farm. In addition to that, I have a full time job outside my home. I just hope that other kids who have disabilities don't give up. YOU can have great life too! Be proud of youself and you will find your place in this world.