I Had a Stroke at Birth and Spent Years Trying to Hide My Cerebral Palsy. Sharing on Social Media Helped Set Me Free.

The useful part

As told to Jacquelyne Froeber I was born breech — feet first — on December 3, 1993. I don't remember when the healthcare providers tried to turn me during delivery or when things escalated and I was delivered using forceps. I don't remember how scared my parents were when they learned I'd had a stroke at birth that affected the right side of my brain and caused a lack of oxygen during delivery that impacted the left side of my body.

How it works

• Growing up, my family did everything they could to normalize the fact that my entire left side — most noticeably my arm and hand — didn't work like my right side.
• I don't remember being diagnosed with a type of cerebral palsy called hemiparesis or hearing that I may not be able to walk or use the left side of my body.
• It wasn't until I was 5 or 6 that I even realized that there were activities like the monkey bars that I probably couldn't do.

Details worth keeping

I just knew I'd have to find my own way of doing certain things.