On My Own Two
— Young Lee

Jamal Hill likes to keep a busy schedule. After all, he’s hoping to qualify for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. And although he’s currently the No. 1 ranked U.S. Men’s Paralympic swimmer in the 100-meter freestyle, he isn’t yet guaranteed a spot in the Paralympics. I…

Linda Crabtree’s autobiography, “CMT and Me,” begins with loving descriptions of her parents. Her words, accompanied by childhood photos printed on the pages, gave me a vivid sense of what kind of people her parents were. I was eager to lose myself in Crabtree’s imagery of growing up…

Five years ago, I had a conversation with one of my writer friends. I had heard through the grapevine that she was working on a new story: a thriller featuring a protagonist with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT). I was surprised at her choice of lead character because CMT isn’t a well-known…

When I meet up with old college friends, we often spend time reminiscing. We recall late nights, trips, and past relationships. Looking back, we think about how much has changed in our lives; our careers, relationships, and bodies have altered a lot in the decade since graduation.

This past week, I grabbed lunch with an old friend, Kevin Schaefer. He writes a great column for SMA News Today. Our conversations over lunch usually revolve around nerdy topics such as the latest trailer for “…

About 10 years ago, I found myself walking down a busy side street near one of the larger night markets in Taipei, Taiwan. No direct family members lived there, and although I am ethnically Chinese, my Mandarin is extremely limited. In short, I’m what those in the Asian…

Once, while I was walking down the hallway with my classmates, my high school Spanish teacher asked me if I had hurt my ankles. It may have been the first time he had watched me walk. He then proceeded to walk ahead of my group to demonstrate my…

Charcot-Marie-Tooth. The first word is pronounced like “Shar-ko.” And it has nothing to do with shark teeth. That’s how Arlene, the protagonist of “Arlene on the Scene,” clears up the confusion related to her disease’s name.

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Bernadette Scarduzio pop up in the final moments of Episode 3 of the sixth season of “Orange Is the New Black.” Her character has no dialogue, but she and her scooter are on screen long enough to make an impression…

The 2013 documentary film “Bernadette” was a milestone for Bernadette Scarduzio in many ways. It wasn’t just the first movie project she was a part of, it also was a coming out for her. The documentary marked the first time she came out as gay and her first time…

A few days ago, my sister messaged me on Facebook about a documentary regarding Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) called “Bernadette.” I hadn’t heard about it before, but because I had nothing else planned for the evening, I decided to check it out. It’s a touching film, but what struck me…

Until recently, I never had intentionally ventured to learn more about my disability. In retrospect, I was spectacularly uninterested in this aspect of myself. As a child, I think I felt like I inherently knew all I needed to know about Charcot-Marie-Tooth by merit of having it. I knew…