Mnikesa Whitaker is an Educator, Founder of Ballet Haven, was named last year’s New Havener of the Year by the New Haven Independent, and is such inspiration to me and so many others. Here is (part of) her story:
“It’s taken courage to accept that I’m sick enough to need oxygen. Truthfully, I’ve needed it for some time, but I was a bit stubborn, a little afraid and a LOT ashamed at the prospect of such a concrete, steady reminder of my mortality. Realistically, there are many difficult days ahead; I still need a lung transplant, I need oxygen 98% of the time, and I wake up every day with a rare disease that wants to kill me. But THIS is the life I get to live–THIS is the story I get to tell. So oxygen or not, fragile or fighting, I’m gonna TELL it…for as long as there is breath in my body.” – Mnikesa Whitaker
