I was born with Congenital Heart Failure, not Congestive and different. With Congenital Heart Failure, my body was not even able to support itself, when I was born I was named one of the nation's sickest infants. In Whittier, California they split apart Imperial Highway just to get me out. They couldn't do it by air because of the weather.

As I grew older, I lived life normally. I never knew what I had. I had lived life as a normal kid. When the time came around when I was five or six I came down with Kalaskis Diease (I cannot spell the first one, pronoucned Cal a sock is), soon after it was cured they dianosed me with Congenital Heart Failure.

My health begun to deteriorate, but still I had no clue of this. Right when I was seven I was sent into the hospital at the University of San Fransico to remove a part of the heart to try and remove the tumor inside the Aordic vowel. Since then, I was never able to run again. I still went to school regularlly, and so on after three months of homeschooling (to be isolated).

At the age of eight my doctor placed me on the national wide list of Terminally Ill Children of America, and to this date I am still on the list.

Make-a-Wish heard of this and sent me to meet President Bill Clinton, http://www.nickburrus.com/clinton/

At the age of twelve I went in to surgery again to remove the tumor, which has come back. From then on, I do not wish to release my medical history. Just recently, my doctor told me I may have to go back to surger in 2008 or 2009 to remove the tumor once again.

I think this has effected my life, made me see the world in a different way than most. At the age of seventeen I started a nonprofit website and it quickly rose through ranks and became the 205,000th most popular website according to Alexa. The website's point was to bring topics that are unknown to the public eye, about anything in the world to the public eye. Interviews and unique topics, the site quickly gathered support.

Do you think a condition could've caused this? A different perspective of the world?

How hard is it to grow up being disabled? I know it, living life as a normal kid and all of a sudden it's ripped from you, you're childhood ended and you're forced to grow up. Is it fair? What about those kids who spent all their lives in the hospital?

You know, sometimes I believe some people were born into this world to be an example of life. Not in a bad way, but, I do believe in God and in my religious belief I think God has made plans for people to be a message or prophet if you must say. And yes, life is viewed differently when you have something on your shoulders such as a disability or life changing trauma.

There was a reason why you had the motive to create that website and their is a reason why you received the publicity you have received. I just wish all people could understand the seriousness and the truth gift of living. My sister works with my brother and other people with disabilities and I have had the honor to actually interact with them and understand them.

At the age of five my brother had a brain stem tumor and his symptoms were Axtaxia and a facial droop. We would be in class in kids would make jokes of him, and of course I defended him and got in trouble but I didn't care because it was just wrong and unethical. When money was finally available to get him medical treatment his symptoms had got worse. And like you his tumor kept coming back but with good treatment he didn't have to suffer those symptoms as often and is now living life and treated frequently. I wish he could reply here because you two have those things in common and I wish you both a blessed life.

I, was born Hearing Impared, so i have to live life harder too. In primary school, at first, no-one bothered with my Hearing Aids, but then later at around 10-12, it started grabbing peoples attention. I have spent most of my time at primary school being teased about my Hearing Aids, i know, pain in the behind.

Now, i go to a Highschool which have more people like me, so the school is used to haveing Hearing Impared, so i do not get teased anymore, only more girlfriends

One of my best friends has arthrogriposis (<--spelled right?), he has shortened tendons and weak bones, so his hands are always forced toward his forearms, so everyone thinks he's a sped when they first see him. What really sucks is we think my programming teacher doesn't like him just because he's disabled. He told a couple of friends and I to sign up for an AP Comp Science class next year, but he hasn't said anything to him. He's probably smarter than any of us (we're Juniors and he's in Calculus, a year ahead of me), and my teacher still hasn't said anything.
I don't get what his problem is!?!?

How Hard Is It To Grow Up Being Disabled?

Very hard, I should imagine. All people who are disabled, my sympathy and prayers are with you.

I would say that those who are disabled at birth go through the problems the most go through at a young age and after they prove everyone that teased them wrong, they become a better and stronger person and with that they will be able to help those who are in the same situation as they were. But for those who lead an active life, who just become disabled for whatever means have a harder time coping with the fact that they now have to be supported by those around them.

Although I am not disabled, my back surgery I had a couple of years ago could be a stepping stone to when I become older that I could be put into a wheel chair because my spinal cord can't support me anymore, but that will be a unlikely scenario, but a possibility.

Of course everyone deals with being disabled differently, but once they over come the fact they can no longer do what they did years ago then they could be a even better person then they were before.

Being Disabled?


Worst thing that could ever happen to anyone. I too believe they are sent down by god as a sign.

My prayers are with all the Disabled children. IT sometime makes you cry thinking about their future.


I always give charity in the name ofgod

I was blessed to not have anything, but there is a 45 yr old lady who live around the corner who can bearly talk. Everytime i see her, I say to my self, "Get over it there is nothing wrong with me." I am truly blessed.

I wish we could help... How hard is it to grow up being disabled? I wouldn't know... I mean people complain so much when they break a leg and bump their head, but I never hear a blind person cuss when he runs into something or a deaf person punch someone who bumped into them. I agree with the first poster, all disabled people are pretty much an example and saying "This is what you should be like, but you aren't. Grow up and stop complaining." When you get older you understand this more, but when I was younger and my parents told me things like "think of the kids in africa" I didn't care. It really is sad how the most spoiled kids right now (who will probably end up as the most powerful in the future) don't grasp this concept either, although they hopefully will grasp it eventually. All we can do pretty much is support medical research and become scientists/doctors... But if being a doctor isn't your passion, it's hard to work for something and care about something you don't enjoy.