Why we need more people with disability appearing in the media and the ABC’s IDPwD initiatives to be more inclusive

They are the words that shatter the lives of hundreds of Australians every year.

Those words take away your dreams, steal your independence and strip you of a livelihood you had come to know so well.

Those words leave you with little hope for the future.

Those words, said to me by a top spinal specialist at the age of 19 after I had lain motionless on a hospital gurney for hours, landed a blow unmatched by any heavyweight boxer.

Tears instantly filled my eyes, denial filled my heart.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever live my with a…