Why Do I Have To Be Different?

I took Miss 8 to her therapy yesterday afternoon. She goes every Tuesday with 3 other kids the same age as her. They all have Cerebral Palsy and they are all affected slightly differently. They've been doing this since they were very little and are all pretty good mates.

When we turned up yesterday, little Miss M was getting out of the car in tears. I asked her mum what was wrong, as Miss M (as can Miss 8) can turn on the waterworks sometimes. Miss M has had enough of having Cerebral Palsy. She's had enough of having to wear splints. She's had enough of having to have Botox injections every 6 months (and so has her mum, and me too for that fact). She's had enough of having to wear a helmet at school because her balance isn't very good and she falls over a bit. She's very angry at God because he's made her this way. She's had enough of being different.

Oh that poor, poor little girl. I was just about in tears, as was her mum.

But we both did what we had to do and told her that being different was ok. 

That if we were all the same how boring life would be. That the reason she is who she is, is because she's different. She wouldn't be Miss M if she was any other way. That there were worse things in life - she might not be able to see, or walk, or talk, or she might be allergic to icecream (I was trying hard for laughs here).

It's just crap!

It's horrible to have to try and get an 8 year old girl to feel ok about herself when it can be such a struggle. And I know she was looking for backup. I know she just wanted someone to say "Yes it is crap, and it's horrible, and we wish you weren't affected by this condition", but we can't say that.

I have no idea how long it's going to be before I have this conversation with Miss 8. She seems to be oblivious (usually) to the differences between her and her normal-bodied friends. She does have her frustrations and can have moments of pure anger, but I tend to let her have them when she needs to. It seems to be an outlet for her and I think it's healthier to let her have a tantrum (in her bedroom of course, we don't need to be hearing it) than to bottle it all up.

I didnt' get a chance to talk to the therapist after they'd finished yesterday. They are all at the age now where they can start discussing these sorts of things, so I really want to know how they are all taking Miss M's realisations. Will Miss 8 start asking questions? Will she have a breakdown or will she just take it in her stride? 

It's just really, really crap.