Bloggin with Kelley: My life with Spina Bifida and much more!!!

One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is when someone who has little to no knowledge of Spina Bifida tries to tell me how I should be living my life! I was told just the other day I should "modify" my workouts because of my disability... First of all this person who said this doesn't even workout and second they have absolutely NO knowledge about Spina Bifida! I have actually talked to several people(outside of the person above) who told me what I am doing with my walking and yoga is actually GREAT for my body! People have underestimated and misjudged me my ENTIRE life! Yes there are certain things I absolutely can't do... But please let me be the judge of that not you! At least if your going to try to give advice to someone with a disability PLEASE have at least some knowledge of that disability! You should NEVER underestimate or try to make a person feel inadequate just because they are different. Always remember if someone treats you poorly it's a reflection of them...N...

Y'all I get so incredibly excited when I hit 3 miles two mornings in a row!! Both 3 milers this week were extremely tough but I never backed down and I made it thru!!! Hitting 2 miles in a walk is a breeze to me but once I get pass that... It's starts to get ugly! My legs start to feel like they have weight on them and my back and hips will start to stiffen! I normally can't make the last mile of a 3 miler without stopping at least once... If not more! But once I get done I always feel so proud and accomplished. So with the morning 3 milers and the afternoon miles,.. I reached a total of 8.09 miles!!! In TWO days!!! Now I deserve a restful evening... Night y'all!! #WalkinwithKelley 💕Hugs💕       Kelley

If there is one thing I struggle with more then my braces it's all the scars I have! They are all over my feet, lower back(My worst in my opinion) and my belly! My feet are pretty much ALWAYS hidden by socks or long pants even around my roommates! I have never worn crop tops and bathing suits.... we will get into that in a minute! I have had friends and family say "Your scars make you even more beautiful" and while I try to believe that a little voice inside me creeps in and fills me with doubt.... "No one wants to see those ugly marks!" "Cover those things up they look terrible!" "No one can love someone with that many scars!"... Those are all things that go thru my head when I start to even THINK  about showing my scars... So I go back to covering them up! I have given up on outfits that I thought were adorable because they show my scars. I always try to wear long shirts so if I bend over my back scar doesn't show and I have always went...

So I FINALLY got my first 3 miler of the week this morning!!! Y'all I still remember the first time I ever hit 3 miles in one walk! It was May 9th of this year! I have my walking app set to let me know when I hit each mile and how long it has taken me... When it said 3 miles that day I burst into tears! I cried the whole rest of the walk! I could have NEVER imagined I would hit that in one walk! I have always been the girl (well up until recently) that would try to find the closest parking spot so I didn't have to walk that far or when we did group activities I was the one who was always lagging behind everyone else... That has always been so frustrating to me! But now I try not to let how slow I have to walk bother me. Yes it takes me an hour to walk 3 miles(Some days I could do it in under an hour) and it does make me angry at times... But then I sit back and remember how far I have come! Walking 3 miles isn't easy for me at all! Some days I want to give up at the 2 mark ...

Hey Y'all! So Shoe shopping when your 32yrs old and in a kids size 4 can be a challenge... Throw in bulky leg braces and it can turn into a NIGHTMARE! That was the case this past week for me. See I have been looking for a DURABLE pair of walking shoes. Something that I am comfy in and will last longer then 4 months like my last pair! They needed to be able to withstand the amount of miles I walk and how INCREDIBLY hard I am on my shoes in general!  So I asked family and friends for suggestions and got several different opinions on which brands were best. I also looked at reviews of each brand and current sales. I'm VERY frugal at times so spending $60 on a pair of shoes was not sitting well with me at all!  One major problem I always run into with shoes is they are not wide enough for my braces. This time was no different! In fact finding a wide in a kids athletic shoe has proven to be EXTREMELY difficult! It seemed that every brands website either had NO wides to choose from...

Well it wasn't the 3 miles I was shooting for this morning but I am still happy! With just getting my shoes(Blog about that experience coming tomorrow😁)  I didn't think 3 miles was a good idea. See with my braces when I get new shoes I normally feel some what unsteady walking the first day so walking even the 2.09 I walked felt a little off balance... But I  am 7.30 miles closer to my weekly goal of 20!! Tuesday evening is normally my off night anyway... Well if I take a night off...(It's Pretty Little Liars night 😂😂 ) so getting my new shoes today worked out! But tomorrow IT'S ON and I WILL hit my first 3 miler of the week(I hit over 3 miles TWO mornings in a row last week!) But for now it's off to watch PLL(My FAVE show!!)! Night Y'all!  💕 HUGS 💕    Kelley       

Hey Y'all! So for as long as I can remember I have HATED shorts and pretty much anything that shows my legs! Well honey let me tell you walkin in anything but shorts in Mississippi in the summer is just not happenin! Unless you want to die of heat exhaustion that is. Now yes my momma use to put me in shorts and short dresses that showed off my legs... But as a teen and now an adult I have covered those braces up! I will wear short dresses but only if I can wear boots that cover up everything with them! So one day a few months ago I was at my happy place (A.K.A Target 😁 ) and decided to be bold and bought a pair of shorts!! I took them home and immediately the anxiety kicked in "What are people going to say?" "Will they stare?" "Will they laugh?" All those questions went thru my head! So the next day I finally got the courage up to put them on. Y'all I sat at my kitchen table for an hour trying to convince myself to go out and walk in these shorts!...

Hey Y'all!!! Today was a BEAUTIFUL day here in Mississippi! Perfect weather for walking! (Meaning I wasn't melting from the heat😂😂) I got in a good 2.08 miles this morning and 1.12 this evening... So 3.20 for the day!! But that's not the biggest thing that happened walking wise tonight.... Tonight I hit a total of  301 miles walked since November of 2016!!! It COMPLETELY    blows my mind that a girl who was told she wouldn't walk on her own or would always need assistance to walk just hit 301 miles walked in SEVEN months!!! Just goes to show you never know what you might accomplish with a little faith and a lot of hard work!!!  💕Hugs💕   Kelley    

Let me introduce myself. I'm Kelley! I am 32yrs old and currently living in Olive Branch, Mississippi. I was born with Spina Bifida and later diagnosed with hydrocephalus(Fluid on the brain)  When I started my walking journey back in November of 2016 my intent was just to get out and enjoy small walks around the neighborhood. I NEVER in a million years would have thought it would turn into such a passion of mine! I also would have NEVER imagined that 8 months later I would be able to walk 3 miles in one walk and be hitting up to 20 miles per week!  I was born in December of 1984 in Nyack,NY. Before I was born my parents were told I had Spina Bifida and would need surgery within hours of being delivered to close the opening on my back! Little did they know that surgery would start a journey that would include ELEVEN(Twelve total) surgeries before the age of 11! Also countless Dr and Hospital visits! My parents were also told when I was very young that I would not walk at all or...