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Dignity Health

One woman's journey coping with unseen pain may change how the world sees disabilities.

When Annie Segarra goes about her daily life, it's not immediately obvious she's in pain 24/7.

Since she's so used to living with discomfort, she's able to walk around for a few minutes, but any longer than that, and she has to sit down and rest. However, the fact that she's not always in a wheelchair makes many passersby question wether or not she really has a disability and often results in judging looks and harsh words.

"They can't see that you're in pain because you look 'just fine,'" Segarra explains.

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'We are going to carry you': Students bring teacher to tears after the Florida shooting.

Marissa Schimmoeller teaches English at a high school in Ohio. She also happens to use a wheelchair.

As you may expect, Schimmoeller was on edge returning to work after the horrifying shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Florida. "As the first students walked in, I began to feel the anxiety pooling in my stomach," she recollected from those first tense moments starting a new day.

But Schimmoeller was dreading one question specifically because she uses a wheelchair: "Mrs. Schimmoeller, what will we do if a shooter comes in your room?"

Photo courtesy of Marissa Schimmoeller.

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How one man helped his best friend with a neuromuscular disorder hike 500 miles.

He just jumped in and said, 'Yeah. I’ll push you.'

One day, Justin Skeesuck asked his longtime friend Patrick Gray, "Do you want to go across 500 miles of northern Spain with me?"

He was talking about the Camino de Santiago — a pilgrimage hike which, on foot, usually takes about a month to complete.

Today, people of all different religious and cultural backgrounds make the journey for many different reasons, and it would be challenging for anyone.

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He couldn't play in a normal treehouse, so Make-a-Wish made him one of his own.

7 year-old Hayden Trigg has used a wheelchair for his entire life.

Hayden is from Austin, Texas, and suffers severe complications from congenital skeletal and nervous system disorders, making muscle coordination and movement extremely difficult.

It's a big battle to fight.

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