The 2022 Murph Challenge Day 15: Abbey Hauser
Resilience is defined as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. Today’s dedication exemplifies that definition.
At age 7, her family realized something was off when she kept suffering injuries from everyday activities, “I’ve dislocated my shoulder holding a door open for a stranger, dislocated my knee while coloring as a child or just rolling over in bed, I’ve developed stress fractures in my spine from just the stress of gravity, and have survived countless other injuries caused from simple tasks,” Abbey explains.
Abbey has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, or EDS which is a group of rare genetic connective tissue disorders. Symptoms include; joint hypermobility resulting in easy dislocations, smooth velvety skin that is overly elastic or stretchy, frequent bruising, abnormal scarring, joint degeneration, and chronic pain.
Abbey says, “My body will always be unstable and fragile, but my limitations do not determine who I am.” We agree 100% and she proved it in 2018 when she ran and completed the Chicago Marathon.
2021 Nominee and Nominator, Jamie, says this about Abbey, “she is an advocate for “otherly abled” individuals and actively gives her time personally and professionally to create awareness and help people with hands on attention. She is a wonderful person inside and out.”
After completing her marathon, she gave this reflection which will inspire anyone who reads it, “I hope anyone who sees me run sees a world of capabilities the next time they see a person with a disability. Everyone has the right to chase their dreams, no matter the size or how it’s accomplished. All it takes is some relentless forward progress and the guts to dare greatly.”
Every Day We Fight is honored to dedicate Day 15 of 32 to a young woman that’s making an impact and inspires anyone who reads her story, Abbey Hauser.
Team Murph: 25:55