Personal Stories

Personal Stories

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I Was Actually Terrified of the Gym

Growing up with spina bifida, a birth defect that affects the spine, I was never physically active. I believed my disability excluded me from keeping fit. My peers would ridicule me in gym class because I could not keep up. Their mocking left me self-conscious.

Sister to Sister

Check out this example of sisterly love. When they were younger, Laura Booth, now 29, snatched an annoyingly noisy toy away from her little sister, Leslie Booth. Then the fight started. A few minutes later, the girls' mom, Joan Booth, heard Laura yelling, "Muuumm!"

A Teenager Defined

Active in sports, Steve has more than homework on his mind.
What's the definition of a teenager? It's Steve. He is in Grade 11 where he goes to class and plays sports - lots of sports. After school, you'll probably find this sports fanatic at Variety Village participating in - you guessed it - more sports.

"I've been interested in sports all of my life," he says. Steve has spina bifida, and it affects him from his knees down. But his disability is not a big problem. "I can walk pretty well," he says.

Peristeen® improves quality of life

After a complicated pregnancy and a difficult birth, Emil was born. He had spina bifida, which was quite a shock for his parents. "Emil was transferred to Lund (hospital in Sweden) for immediate surgery and the whole thing was very confusing and shocking," explains Emil’s father, Tommy.

Lieke will sit on the toilet for 20 minutes every second day waiting for her bowels to empty. At the age of three she is happy to play with her Barbie dolls – and when she learns to read, a good book or magazine will fill her periods of waiting.