Meet Caffrey

The best thing I’ve made in the kitchen is probably pickles. I’m an expert on all kinds of pickles. I make pickled red onions, too, which I don’t like as much. But it’s always satisfying when you eat something you made yourself. You feel proud of yourself.

I love working in the kitchen. But sometimes I’m not always able to do stuff. Sometimes I can’t reach stuff or sometimes it’s too heavy for me to get it. Especially if it’s high up on the cabinet. I usually just put stuff on the lower parts so I can reach it myself.

Since the diagnosis, life has felt a little more challenging to me. I want to be able to do a little bit more and be more active. But I have good things in my life. Cooking, gaming, my doggy, my cat who’s not that cuddly, but that’s okay. I would say if you’re living with Duchenne, look on the bright side. Look at all the fun stuff you’re still able to do. And don’t think that you’re alone. There are so many others with Duchenne who know what it’s like.

My service dog Ticket made a big difference. Her, my dad and I are like a trio. I always wanted a dog. She can help me pick up things from the floor and open handicap doors. She makes me happy. It feels nice to be welcomed by her when I get home from school. She’s always so excited to see me, I can see it on her face.

When I’m not in school, I like to stay up late playing video games with friends. I’ve met some friends at volt hockey, I’ve been playing with them recently, so that’s exciting. We like to play multiplayer games on PC. There’s a lot of different ones like Valorant. But when I get back to school, I need to focus on my homework before I do fun stuff.

I’m interested in getting a job, but it has to be accessible. I’ve wanted to work at Star Market, and I tried bagging because I thought it would be easier for me, but the things I had to lift were too heavy. I want to try another position there. Getting money would be nice because I’d be able to spend it and save it.