In her story, “Reclaiming My Thorns”, Maggie Wojtarowicz (who writes as ‘Margota’), likens her life to a rose whose thorns are the challenges she has experienced. Having lived with a movement condition that was diagnosed as dystonia when she was a child, Maggie navigated through her teens with her body increasingly restricting her ability to speak, be still, or move, without attracting unsolicited commentary – while surviving the well-intentioned but misguided treatments of her uniqueness.
Believing the medical wisdom of the time, that her condition could not be organically improved, Maggie persevered in her desire to practice as a Professional Engineer, while moving on her own at 24 from Ontario out to Vancouver,
BC. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in her mid-thirties and lost both breasts, she gained valuable insight that led her to retraining herself to speak without triggering the dystonic spasms. As part of her newly reconstructed cleavage, Maggie also acquired a rose tattoo to remind herself that even a thorny life can be beautiful. Drawing on the stark contrast between her experiences with her cancer condition – invisible unless she chooses to share it – and her very visible neurological condition, Maggie reconceptualises her thorny challenges to have a gentler and more forgiving side to them. Using humour, Maggie diffuses the sombreness of her conditions and shares her newly gained perspective for living an even richer life.
The story was recently published by Caitlin Press in an anthology entitled Boobs: Women Explore What It Means to Have Breasts. More on the availability of Maggie’s story here.