“Life With CTD” – Chelsi

Hello, my name is Chelsi and I have CTD. 23 years have come and gone before I even knew about this condition. If it wasn’t for my son I would have gone my whole life without any knowledge. When I first got diagnosed I was scared. What does this all mean? How are people going to react? Am I going to be treated differently? Life wasn’t always easy for me growing up. Making friends was a struggle. Communicating appropriately with someone was definitely a no go for me.

Through many ups and downs, I was able to push through and become someone that I never dreamed of. Yes, friends were important to me but school is where I first excelled the most. Although I had some hard times with school in specific subjects, I still felt like this was one of my escapes. It was something that I enjoyed and I liked to push myself to new levels. At the time it was the one place where I didn’t have to worry about my struggles. Sports was something that I loved whether it was playing softball and soccer or watching football with my dad. I was able to be myself without worrying about what someone thought. It was where everyone had something in common, The Love of the Game. Home life had its moments. I felt like I was watched over all the time. It is where I felt like I wasn’t heard or what I was doing wasn’t good enough.

I know a lot of you wonder what it is like for a female to have CTD. There are times when it feels like the world is crumbling beneath you. Like there is no one who understands what we go through. Even though there are many struggles faced through life, there are also many strengths as well. Each person is very different from one another but I feel like anything can be achieved no matter how severe we may have it. Through our struggles is how we blossom and become amazing women in the world. When times get tough we just have to keep telling ourselves that everything is going to be okay and that we can do anything if we just believe. There are some of you who may feel exhausted, overwhelmed, drained, and emotionally weary but keep your head up because there is always someone out there that can help bring you back up. We are all in this together and all face many of the same struggles just know that we are not alone.