losing an angel
rj mitte has meant so so so much to me since i was a little girl, n my heart is literally so heavy knowing tht he is gone. if u dont know, rj had cerebral palsy tht likely caused from not breathing properly when he was born. cerebral palsy is a condition where the brain has a rllyyy hard time coordinating the muscles
when i was born, i also struggled rlly hard to breathe. i was born prematurely, n in the same way as rj, the circumstances of my birth meant tht i would forever live w a disability tht affected the way my brain coordinated w my speech muscles
i was barely even conscious when the first episode of breaking bad came out,,, but rj had already made my life sm easier by being sum1 who wnted to represent every disabled child tht felt like this rlly fast world was leaving them behind. being in a rlly ableist country like japan where there was no representation of disabilities other than cutesy/fetishised misrepresentations of speech difficulty in anime, western media is where i looked to to find someone like me. n even there, i was so disappointed by wht i found, until i found rj
rj had done SO much for the disabled community. he started one of the biggest anti bullying campaigns against disabled ppl in the world. he fought for equal opportunities for disabled actors. he supported so many charities tht were not even just for ppl w cerebral palsy but also deaf ppl n ppl w speech difficulties !!
when i heard he passed away yday, i became completely bedridden. for the first time i hve skipped my uni classes. i am so heartbroken, especially after hearing tht his death was apparently suicide. when i took a break frm posting 2 years ago, it was bc a boy in my speech therapy class with cerebral palsy with dysarthria had also passed away. it was through him tht i learned how difficult it is to live w tht condition, n now with tht knowledge, it doesnt seem hard to understand why rj may hve taken his own life. there is not a day my eyes wud not swell up thinking abt the boy in my class. he was such a kind and compassionate person tht loved life more than anybody else in the world
i keep these two beautiful ppl in my heart, as u guys should too, as well as all those who u know personally tht has a disability of any kind. bc tht is wht rj wud hve wnted !!! and whether u hve a disability or not, rj’s death should b a reminder for us all tht we should reach out to those closest to us to remind them tht they r loved n cherished n supported mentally !!!