CMT Unbroken

You know, life is supposed to get better.

If you’re willing to put in the work, take the hits, learn the lessons, and get back up every time you get knocked down, there is supposed to be some reward waiting on the other side.

And I took my hits.

I started taking them young.

I did everything within my power to build a better life.

I kept moving forward.

And then, just when it feels like the storm is finally breaking and you can see sunlight on the horizon, CMT rolls in like an even darker cloud.

A progressive disease that doesn’t care how hard you’ve worked.

Doesn’t care how much you’ve overcome.

Doesn’t care how badly you want a break.

And suddenly you realize that every day requires effort.

Every day requires adaptation.

Every day requires a fight.

You hope the pain won’t be too bad.

You hope your body cooperates.

You hope you still have enough left in the tank.

And that’s one of the hardest truths about life.

It isn’t fair.

It never was.

And it never will be.

But fairness was never the point.

The only thing we can control is how we respond.

How we adapt.

How we choose to show up when life doesn’t go according to plan.

So I wake up.

I fight.

I live.

I hope.

And tomorrow I’ll do it again.

Because somewhere in this struggle, something remarkable happens.

We discover strengths we never knew we possessed.

Resilience we never asked for.

Courage we never thought we needed.

And little by little, the struggle reveals who we really are.

We have been battle tested.

And we’re still here.

Strength. Identity. The courage to adapt.

It’s not hard to go viral.

You just have to be a dick.

Be divisive. Attack people. Create an enemy. Give people someone to hate and they’ll reward you for it.

The problem is that focusing on other people is easy.

Looking at yourself is hard.

It’s painful.

It takes time.

And sometimes we’re afraid of what we’ll find when we look honestly at our own lives.

Living with CMT has taught me that lesson over and over again.

It’s easy to get trapped mourning the body you used to have. The strength that disappeared. The things that once came naturally.

It’s just as easy to get trapped staring into the future, watching a world that feels like it’s getting smaller as abilities are taken away.

But the truth is, that’s part of being human.

All of us spend our lives adapting to changing circumstances. We redefine our future again and again based on the reality in front of us.

The challenge is learning to do both at the same time:

Accept reality while continuing to push your limits.

Grieve what you’ve lost while still fighting for what’s possible.

Stop comparing yourself to others and start building yourself.

For me, that purpose is CMT Unbroken.

It’s getting up every morning and doing the things people say are impossible.

It’s proving to myself that tomorrow’s version of me can be better than today’s.

But my purpose isn’t your purpose.

Yours might be your family.

Your faith.

Your art.

Your career.

Your community.

Whatever it is, find it.

Build it.

Live it.

Because the most important battle you’ll ever fight isn’t against other people.

It’s becoming the person you’re capable of being.