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I Have Many Questions About My Sister’s Disability, But Only One Answer Matters

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Friends come and go throughout our lives. Most people can’t say that they have had the same best friend for their entire life, but I can. My best friend is my sister, Maggie. She is the most loving, caring, and happy person that you will ever meet.

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Maggie was born with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. She uses a wheelchair to get around and an augmentative communication device to communicate. Despite her differences, Maggie is able to do just about anything and often chooses to do them with me.

We have done just about everything that best friends our age do, and even more. We have been on every single ride in Walt Disney World together. We have danced around on our back deck in the rain. We have sneaked out to the store when Mom and Dad weren’t home. We have gone to the casino and played slots until all our money was gone. We have even gone SCUBA diving together!

There are many days where I sit and think about how life would be different if my best friend didn’t have cerebral palsy. Would she be in college like me? Would she go on dates and drive a car? How would she dress? What would her voice sound like? How would our day to day life be different?

Even though these questions are sometimes tough, I have to think about things from the other side, too. If Maggie didn’t have cerebral palsy, would we still be as close as we are? Would I still be going to school to become a speech-language pathologist? Would I really have gotten my SCUBA diving license? Would I have had all these incredible experiences and life skills that I have? Would I really be the same person I am today?

I will probably never know the answer to any of these questions, but that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I have an incredible best friend who I know will always be up to go on a crazy adventure and love me unconditionally.

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Originally published: April 1, 2015
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