13/03/2024
I’ve been getting some DM’s recently asking me “what’s wrong with my face” or “what’s my story” etc. and just want to preface that I’m not bothered by these questions, but it’s probably easier to just share it in a post so here’s my story in a nutshell 🫶🏼
I was born with a super rare neurological disorder called Moebius Syndrome, it effects 1 person in every 3 to 4 million and essentially means I have facial paralysis (or I like to refer to it as free Botox, lol 🤪), the syndrome effects my 6th and 7th cranial nerves which means my eyebrows don’t move, I can’t track my eyes from left to right and my upper lip doesn’t move which means “I can’t smile” but I’ve learnt along the way that that last one is up for interpretation by the individual 🙃😅
I was bullied my whole schooling life, from verbal bullying to physical bullying and everything in between and it wasn’t just isolated to my peers, I experienced bullying by my teachers and a number of sport coaches as well
The first pic is me just after a super invasive, 8 hour long operation I had when I was 11, and I begged my parents to get it because I thought if I “could smile normally” then I would have friends, I wouldn’t get bullied and I would be happy. The surgery was unsuccessful (which I’m v grateful for now) and at the time, made my life so much worse - I had my first su***de attempt 6/8 months after this operation at the age of 12
Fast forward to 26 (pics 2, 3 and 4) and I’m using my face and story to inspire and empower others and I’m on my mission of making the sports arena more inclusive!!
Sorry for the novel, but it’s all to say that 11 year old Tayla really could have benefited from having someone like 26 year old Tayla putting herself out there (even if it is scary) to champion her, to make her feel seen and heard, and to make sure she felt like she could do whatever she wanted to be, do and achieve….and I just hope that I can be that for others now ☄️✨⚡️
