Community Chat #3

Hello and welcome to another week at Humbly Courageous. I’m so excited to share another community chat with you this week! Tye Martin is a friend who I met through social media just a couple of months ago. We instantly connected and have been supporting each other since. His words truly illustrate what strength in the face of adversity looks like. It may surprise some of you, and I hope it changes some perceptions that others may have, that those of us with disabilities aren’t capable of accomplishing their big goals and aspirations. Tye is a perfect person to debunk that untruth. Without further ado….Dr. Tye Martin! 

Dr. Tye Martin

Tell me a little bit about yourself. Name, age, where you are from. Future Goals.

Hi! My name is Tye and I’m a 34 year old living in the Land of Enchantment full of mountain scenery and hot air balloons. My background is in biomedical engineering and I earned my PhD in 2019. At this point, my health situation and goals are evolving. I am transitioning into a career of influencing, advocacy, and volunteering to improve awareness and rights for people with muscular dystrophy and related diseases.

If you are comfortable, talk about your diagnosis and when you were diagnosed.

 I live with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and was diagnosed at age eight. Over time my muscle strength and function has progressively decreased. While I’ve lost physical ability, I feel that my mental and emotional strength is increasing at the same rate.

How has meeting and connecting with others who also have Muscular Dystrophy or other disabilities been beneficial to you?

Before graduate school, I didn’t really accept MD as a part of myself and often tried to downplay/ignore it as much as possible. After the pandemic and recovering from 40 days in ICU, everything changed. In the last few years I’ve met so many awesome people living with a range of disabilities including those with various forms of muscular dystrophy. It’s been an amazing experience in addition to a self awakening. I’ve discovered there is such a healing network of people overcoming adversity like myself who I draw strength from! From dating to handling pain I feel like my quality of life has improved as a result.

What are some challenges your disability has presented and what has successfully navigating through those challenges taught you?

 It has presented so many barriers over the years with new ones appearing more and more. Some of the most significant physical challenges like eating, drinking, dressing, and hygiene are things I mostly overcome with help from my family caregivers. However, the mental and emotional toll from muscular dystrophy continues to be a challenge I work hard to deal with daily. Navigation of my own disease has taught me patience and creativity because of the need to adapt repeatedly to new challenges. I’ve also learned acceptance for my situation especially to mitigate the impact of things I can’t control.

How has your disability shaped your life up to this point?

 Currently, it has shaped my life into a story of resilience and finding the positive in every situation. Occasionally, it has been physically and mentally exhausting to the point I feel I can’t keep going, but family and friends have brought me back.

 What is one thing you would like people to know about disabilities that may be a common misconception?

One thing I want to stress is for people to realize we are all humans regardless of our disabilities. We want the choice for adventure, humor, connection, intimacy, fulfillment, having a spouse/partner, having children and love like anyone else.

Tell a little about how you know me.

Absolutely! You were one of the first people directly involved with MDA who I met and interacted with as I started my new path as an influencer. Your blogs made me feel a desire to share more of my story in a way that can help others with muscular dystrophy and improve public perception of disability while fighting stigma. In one blog you mentioned using your journey to help others brought you a sense that your life path was going the right direction. I recently felt something similar. Your role as MD advocate and MDA ambassador is something I aspire to be in the future!

What is your greatest accomplishment to date and why are you proud of it?

I think the biggest accomplishment is earning my PhD in biomedical engineering. It’s not a semblance of perseverance or personal drive that makes me the most proud. It’s the dedication and support of family and friends in addition to advisers and colleagues. It really did take a village as the foundation for my own efforts! Although I might not be a “typical” engineer, earning my doctorate is directly responsible for leading me to the disability community and network.

What is the most frustrating thing about living with a disability?

The most frustrating thing for me is the feeling that too many people write off those with disabilities because of preconceived ableist notions. At some point everyone deals with disability and may need assistive devices whether it’s something as simple as glasses or a $30,000 wheelchair!

The key to self-acceptance is…

I think it’s being honest about your thoughts and trusting your instincts because nobody knows you better than you. I also feel that it’s important to realize self advocacy is a super power and part of self acceptance is knowing when to ask for help.

I am so grateful that Tye was willing to chat with Humbly Courageous. I would say that he is humbly courageous indeed. I loved reading his insight into living with a disability. My favorite thing he said was, "While I’ve lost physical ability, I feel that my mental and emotional strength is increasing at the same rate." What profound insight, and a statement I can certainly relate to. Thank you Tye! 💚

To connect with Tye follow him on Instagram @dr.tyedmartin