Because I’m a person of very short. There are a lot of judgments. Really, people don’t believe I’m in my thirties.

And love, being in love is one of the most beautiful things and it’s okay to be in a relationship.

I mean it’s a mutual understanding between the two.

So if the person is okay, and I feel it’s absolutely fine and I’m committed.

*
(Music)

Hi, I’m Dhanya Ravi, born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta which comes under Locomotor disability.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta, what can I say, it’s my companion, a lifetime companion.

I’m born with OI, the shorter version of Osteogenesis Imperfecta, since birth.

I was born with a femur bone fracture and it took around 2 months for my doctors to understand, as a baby, why I was crying.

And after a lot of research and understanding on a medical term, in the third month the doctor informed my parents that I have this condition called Brittle bone disease and it’s going to be within me as long as I am here on this planet.

And yeah as you can see, the character of this condition is just that until teenage the bones would just snap off without a reason.

And it is as brittle like an eggshell.

And I’ve gone through a lot of fractures, hundreds of fractures.

And the divine design, what you can see in me right now, it is because of OI

And yeah, after that, the bones are making me strong and yeah I drive on my wheelchair.

That’s me!

*

As a woman with a disability, I’ve been judged by people.

I remember as a teenager, people used to ask how am I going to cope with the society.

Am I going to be a burden to the family?

A lot of questions come from there and being inside the room for almost till teenage and you come up with such questions from the, you know, the society, it wasn’t an easy journey.

So for me, getting into a professional life was extremely difficult.

Being educated at home and homeschooling, it wasn’t an easy experience for me to get into the employment sector.

So I kind of, I feel financial independence is extremely important.

After a lot of struggle I started up my career with data entry work and then freelance content writing, digital marketing and yeah currently I work as an executive with EnAble India, an organization that works for the livelihood of persons with disabilities.

I work for the Candidate success team, currently.

And another journey of mine is completely involved in the disability sector.

For more than 10-12 years, I’ve been evolving, meeting my peer group friends, empowering each other and trying to spread a lot of awareness about genetic diseases and also ensuring any person that I meet should be able to stand on their own and bring down their own identity.

So that’s my involvement towards the sector.

*

I do require certain physical support in terms of mobility and I still strive, in my family, that I need to go out and I have accepted my disability and I feel it is okay if I get some support, and, uhh, it’s a conversation that happens with my parents even now, at this age.

The parents see the child, a person without disability, and maybe the differences are just the little differences which needs a solution and it should not be a stigma.

I feel nurturing a child in this way, brings in a lot of trust, involvement and empowerment between the family born.

So if I as a person am able to, you know, meet my limitations, and involve with it or maybe evolve with it even more, in a better way, it is because of the kind of family support.

Down the line when I look back I really feel, uh, what makes this world beautiful is when you see a person the way they are.

We should not judge people based on their differences, rather you know, get to know them, say a hi, understand who they are and there is a strength in every person and there is something, each of us are gifted and they can contribute a lot to those who doesn't have that.

So, person first always.