The Story of Charles Freeman

Prompt: What keeps you going and why do you choose to stand?

Response

At 5 months, my mother was scheduled for her amniocenteses test.The nurse misperformed the procedure, popping the bag I was in and forcing her into labor. I was born with my legs, but they were dead tissue. So, they told my mom—you can keep him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life or amputate his legs to see if he can walk. She took a risk and chose amputation.

When I was younger I moved from a shelter in Brooklyn to Summit,New Jersey. Things were hard then, but I was motivated to keep going, as God allowed me to breathe every day and rise from slumber. I realize that sleep is the cousin of death, and not many are blessed or fortunate enough to wake up, let alone to wake up with prosthetics to use or a face this good-looking(Chuckles).

The sacrifices my mother and grandma made that allowed us to live better lives are what drive me every day. From Ghana to England to America, they never stopped instilling the love that God also has for our family. I keep pushing forward to repay that kindness. I try my best to get up every day and say, “…at least I can move.” Even when it’s painful, I can move. It often hurts to be on my feet for long periods of time, but I remind myself, I can stand, I can walk. I can dance, and although I’m not that fast, I can also run. I do what I can. It is only by God’s grace. I promised God that I would not waste this opportunity.

Even with being diagnosed with lupus when I was younger and on top of that, bipolar disorder type 1, I have not been deterred. It’s funny. No matter what they try to tell me, it doesn't kill me. It only strengthens my hunger to live and motivates me to continue to make God and my ancestors proud. So I will never complain. Never in a million years will I do so, because I’m still breathing and I’m still here to face the challenges of the day. I will always stand!

One day, I hope to finish a Master’s program in Counseling, Education or Philosophy. Once I do, I hope to return to Ghana and teach for the rest of my life. I want to help my people rise. It’s my hope to inspire others to push through life, by publicly showing myself doing things that they assume I cannot do when they first lay eyes on me. I know I’m not the norm for most people in the world. Their first instinct is to stare at me, as I do obviously stand out. By training or dancing, or moving and simply by smiling with my head high, I can encourage them to look at me. They take notice and realize, that though my circumstances might be tough, I still have intensity in my face, movements and an undeniable bravado for life.

When I used to train, a lot of people would come up to me, and tell me that they wanted to be like me. I would reply, “no, that’s not possible, but you can be better than me.” I want people to know that as long as you have the hunger and the drive to prove the people that believe in you right, then you cannot be stopped. That is where I want to make my mark in life. As one trying to experience the world in a shell most people would deem unfit for society's standards, I will continue to do the best that I can do. It’s not over until God says it's over.

Still,I stand.