Shane Burcaw - Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse

Look, I get it. Normally, I dont read introductions either, but this one is important, and Im not just saying that because I wrote it. (Yes I am.)

There are some things you should know about me that will make your reading of this book more enjoyable.

First of all, I have a disease. The disease, which I was born with, is called spinal muscular atrophy. It causes my muscles to waste away as I get older, so I was never able to walk or even crawl. Ive used a fancy schmancy electric wheelchair since the age of two, and as of writing this at the age of twenty-five, Im starting to lose more important muscle function, like my abilities to breathe and swallow and speak.

Fun, right?

Theres a whole lot more about my life and the intricacies of my disease in my first book, Laughing at My Nightmare. (Wow, what a dick, plugging another book he wrote on page one!) You really should read it, but Ill also give you some fast facts here that will illuminate my life history for you. I suppose a better writer would find a clever way to reveal this necessary information seamlessly within the actual essays, so that the book could truly stand alone without need for the reading of other texts, but I am not a better writer. I am merely a young man with some funny stories to tell and an annoying penchant for sarcasm. Perhaps with age Ill develop some writing chops, in addition to the lovely muscle deterioration thats in store for me.

My editor is going to love this introduction. First I try to peddle another book to you, and then I tell you Im a shitty writer. Brilliant.

Lets see, what do you need to know?

I need help with almost every physical activity, from getting out of bed to showering to picking my nose. Ive always relied on my friends and family to help me with these things, and they have always been there to help. They are phenomenal human beings. When I began writing this book, I lived with three of them: my parentsJon and Sueand my younger brother, Andrew. By the time I finished the manuscript, I was living a thousand miles away from them with my girlfriend, Hannah. More on that later.

Throughout a good chunk of my life, Ive been trying to convince people that Im normal. My physique has been twisted and bent by my disease, like a plastic action figure melting in a fireplace, so from an early age, people have treated me like Im a rolling tragedy. Strangers speak slowly to me. They assume I have no friends, no social capacity, no brain, really. People are often inspired by the fact that Im shopping in the grocery store, as if just being outside of my house is a commendable activity worthy of praise.

In my childhood and teen years, this bothered me to no end, but it felt like an unfixable problem, so I started using jokes to avoid the issue. Humor became my coping mechanism, my solution. By cracking a joke, I could at least ease the awkward tension in most social situations, allowing kids and adults alike to see that I wasnt some precious creature that needed to be handled cautiously.

In this way, I made a great group of friends who learned to see past my wheelchair.

I played sports. I had crushes and, later on, love and intimacy. (Dont worry, theres more on that later, too.) I got in trouble. I got hurt. I went to college.

Mom, Dad, Hannah, me, Andrew, and his girlfriend, Laura, getting WILD on New Years Eve.

In college, something unexpected happened. On a whim, I started a blog called Laughing at My Nightmare, and it took off into internet glory. Almost overnight (at least thats what it felt like), hundreds of thousands of people around the world wanted to read about my life and the ridiculous shit Ive been through. In a way, all I was doing on my blog was what I had been doing my whole life: telling jokes to help the world understand me. People connected with my message of using humor to overcome hardship, and as enthusiasm for my story continued to grow, my cousin Sarah and I decided to start a nonprofit organization to take that message to the next level. That nonprofit, also called Laughing at My Nightmare, grew exponentially and became my full-time job after college. Today, we have a year-round speaking schedule, teaching audiences across the country the scientifically proven benefits of positivity and humor. I love it, and whats even cooler is that our organization also provides medical and adaptive equipment to individuals living with muscular dystrophy. Weve donated over $80,000 in vital equipment since we began that program! Sarah and I are supported in this venture by an outstanding group of board members and employees who help us make our wild dreams a reality every day. The five years since starting that blog have been nothing short of surreal.

What else?

I have two cats, Oreo and Roxy, whom I mentioned in the opening of my last memoir. They are both still alive, unfortunately.

As always, I hope for nothing more than to make you laugh.