The Disability No One Sees

At 8 years old Taylor Harvey was diagnosed with Transverse Myleitis, a rare neurological disease, that initially paralysed one of his legs.

Doctors said there was a chance it could’ve left him quadriplegic, but through rehab he regained partial function in the damaged leg and eventually found himself back on the sports field - competing against the able bodied without even realising he had a disability.

Through his teenage years, Taylor was frustrated by his lack of athletic progress and as countless hours of practice failed to pay off, he viewed his leg as something to be embarrassed about.

His life changed the day he was told he could qualify for paralympic sport...He soon excelled at soccer, rising through the ranks to play at international level and for the first time in his life, found somewhere to belong.

But living with a disability is never easy. Taylor is very open about his struggles with body image and low self esteem that stems from living with a part of himself he doesn’t like. He’s the first to admit he hasn’t got it all figured out, but he’s working on it...