My brother turned 23 today. Now I probably wouldn't bother mentioning the birthday's of my other siblings...not that they mean any less to me...but each and every birthday T.J. makes it to is something truly special, and worthy of celebration.

You see, T.J. has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) (not sure what type, but that's irrelevant.) He was born with it...although it wasn't known at the time. He learned to walk and run. Then one day he just stopped. Stopped walking, stopped standing up. They took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with SMA. Since then he's lost all use of the lower half of his body, he was diagnosed with scoliosis.

Coupled with the SMA, the scoliosis got so bad he had to insert metal rods in his back to support the spine. Without the rods...the scoliosis would have worsened to the point where his spine would have eventually snapped in two.

He can't sit up by himself. He gets around in an electric wheelchair because he has very little upper-body strength.

He has all these things against him...and yet he's more well-adjusted than just about anybody I know. He lives life to the fullest every day...because he knows each morning he wakes up could very well be his last.

He wasn't expected to make it to his fifth birthday. He's 23 today. Happy birthday, bro. I love you.