My Name is Camilla and I Love My Life

Claudia Gori

Danish School of Media and Journalism

When I asked Camilla to write me her story, the first sentence I could read was: My
name is Camilla and I love my life.
Camilla Kjeldsen Nielsen has deep blue eyes and a sweet smile. Despite suffering from muscular dystrophy, she conducts herself with confidence. Camilla Nielsen is now 33 years old. She lives with her boyfriend, Jesper, and three kids: Ella, 3, and twins Agnes and Esther in Randers, Denmark. Camilla has always wanted to experience the joy of motherhood, even though she was mindful of her children being diagnosed with dystrophy and there was no way to find out if the disease had been transmitted to her daughters.
For women affected by muscular dystrophy, pregnancy is a difficult choice. There is a possibility of several complications; apart from the chances of transmitting the genes of the disease to the children, pregnancy can cause a worsening of the syndrome with increased muscle weakness.
Camilla’s body is in worse condition than before the pregnancies. She often gets tired, she can't lift her children, and she needs help 12 hours per day, but when she looks back at the risky decisions she made, she feels she did the right thing.
Living the present is her everyday purpose. "I have learned to focus on the things I can change and not the things which are impossible to change."
This is a story about being a brave and strong woman, mother, and girlfriend.