Many people have constantly come to my Dm asking me questions about the condition I have well today I wanna share with you this story right from birth till date. Living with the stigma and going through life as it is

I was born on 25th June 2000. A totally normal child till the age of five when I first started exhibiting signs of muscle weakness and a funny rash. Well being a stubborn child my parents though maybe the rash was cause of the raw mangoes I was eating..

Around end of 2005 is when stuff got worse and I was only 5 by then. We were admitted at mulago hospital and only given a bed with no medical attention. Time wasn't our best ally as I was turning purplish and swollen and I didn't honestly look human.

Early 2006, we were advised to try Nsambya hospital and thank God I was finally diagnosed and started on high dosage steroids.
I couldn't walk,cry,talk,or do anything I was so swollen and purple in colour.
I remember taxis owners would never want to carry us..

So my dad would carry me and walk with me from taxi park to the hospital.
Am so grateful for him and my mom they've been really supportive.

Throughout all this I didn't miss a year of school. I kept on learning from the hospital and when I finally joined the rest in school in third term of p.2 that's when I began facing the harshest forms of rejection

The teachers didn't want me, the students most felt I was contagious but with time primary life scaled on and yeah I really didn't care I was so bent on studying. And with time I made friends with a few.

High school was good there's was hate yes, but lol I was the kind that would add spice to everything I did. I choose to be positive and avoid all negative vibes. I was called so many nasty names, "animal print, masira, skeleton, walking dead "

But I believed in me, I knew deep down I was born normal and I didn't ask for it. At times I would cry and curse I would just want to die then I would think to myself and remember I have come so far to back down.
I kept pushing.

When I joined campus I really didn't care what people thought. I mean I had a few good friends what mattered most was having fun with those that mattered.

My biggest turning point was last year, when a mother to a friend called me contagious. It rubbed me in all angles and she didn't stop at that she went ahead to say I bring bad luck and I wanna infect her kids. Cuz I was dating her son..

That hurt it broke but built me. I cried so much and like they say every negative situation has a positive side to it. It prompted me to open up and tell the world I wasn't contagious and fight against stigma.

It wasn't an easy decision to make because I didn't know what to expect. I often asked if I was wrong to love him or do those with autoimmune conditions not deserve love. Whatever it was I just wanted to end the pain then..

And thankfully speaking out healed those wounds. It opened doors for me to get treatment and when the time comes I shall be better again.
Hate made me strong and love healed me.
I wear all my scars with pride because they are my badge and a mark that I defeated death.

That is a summary of the story.
And today I stand firm as a self proclaimed ambassador against stigma because I have been through it and I wanna fight against it.