Writings Focused on Adapting
I struggled through 45 miles at the Fat Ox Ultra Marathon on November 23, 2024. I really wanted 50 miles, but shit went sideways as my legs methodically broke down. At 2 am, I finished my last mile. A mile that took about 30 minutes to complete. Apparently, I looked really bad, so my one…
My story of overcoming severe body image issues. Toothpick legs, stick legs, chicken legs, weird, gross, starving, anorexic, retard. What’s wrong with your legs? Do you eat? Will your legs break if I kick them? Does it hurt to stand? These were the types of comments and questions I received every single gym class. The…
I get quite a few of these messages from individuals missing out on life because they hate the consequences of showing their limb differences, such as this message below. What would you say to individual struggling with a very real physical difference? The consequences of displaying their differences include others staring, laughing, taking pics and…
Sometimes, running can feel like an impossible challenge. Running is very difficult for me due to my birth defects including severe bilateral clubfoot. For example, I can’t stand barefoot, my heels have no fat pads so bone hits surface in each movement. This compounded with all soft and hard tissues below knees being deformed or…
Be the Change and Stop Bullying As a kid, older kids threatened to break my legs and relentlessly bullied me because of my birth defects. I began to obsessively measure my legs and prayed to God to fix me. I stopped looking in the mirror and destroyed pictures of me. As the bullying intensified my…
I finished my first on course ultramarathon a month ago. I’m not stopping there. 5 years ago my legs began to fail. In this darkness, I set an impossible goal to run a 50k ultramarathon. I finished the ultramarathon a month ago. I’m not stopping there. I made a promise to see how far I…
What lower limb offloading device should I get? I receive this question multiple times per week, especially this week. I only recommend the Exosym. Note, I am sharing only my experiences. I believe this hybrid prosthetic-orthotic is the best solution for those with limb salvage injuries, ankle fusions, partial-foot amputations, fractures, tarsal coalitions, and other…
I hated myself so much that I made myself sick I hated my disabled legs and other defects. I hated God for making me this way. I hated the surgery and treatments needed to walk and the negative outlooks. I hated the harshness from the clubfoot and medical communities. I hated that I always felt…
I made a choice to go from the darkest of places to what I am now and what I will become. At points in my life I wanted to die due to the pain and disfigurement of my body. I didn’t want you to ever see my legs and I never wanted to see another…
How bad did I want it? How bad did I want it? This ultramarathon run wasn’t just a fun goal, this was a chance to reclaim the mobility I lost in my younger years. This mobility loss came with devastating consequences. I felt alone, unable, less than you. I never fully recovered. The run conditions…
All Adaptive Essays
Anyone facing challenges may benefit from incorporating a minimalist lifestyle. Minimalism helps me achieve my adaptive goals by allowing me to focus on what I deem most essential and eliminating the rest.
You can read my minimalist story HERE - WHY I BECAME A MINIMALIST
You can read how minimalism is a great tool when facing adversity HERE - WHEN ADVERSITY HITS, MINIMALISM WORKS
You can find all my additional minimalist writings HERE.