Introduction

Denise Plante (Host): Join me in congratulating John O’Leary, who has been selected to be the 2019 recipient of the Invisible Disabilities Association “But You Look Good” Inspiration Award. John has been chosen because as someone who has personally endured trauma and severe burn injuries sustained over 100% of his body as a child, he inspires people in the midst of their challenges and triumphs. Thank you, John, for your courage to share your story publicly, and to provide a positive voice of hope and compassion to many people on their journey with illness, pain, and disability.

John O’Leary’s Acceptance Speech

Well my friends, I am indeed John O’Leary and am incredibly humbled to be with you in spirit and on video tonight. I wish I was there with you live on this Friday evening. I want to thank you for the opportunity to celebrate something that I think too infrequently we lift up and celebrate—and that is the invisible disabilities we all have.

You’re looking at me tonight and you see probably some scars, and you’re probably noticing my hands. What you may not notice is that I deal with struggles internally. I am the son of a father who has Parkinson’s disease—who struggles with those disabilities, most of them on the inside—and a mother who has some invisible disabilities as well. We have depression; we have bipolar in our family. We have all kinds of issues that may not show up as clearly as the ones you see on video tonight, but they affect, they change, and they challenge us.

Rising Above Challenges

And yet, when surrounded by like-minded individuals who have a heart for this, a heart for rising above, and a heart for finding joy in the sorrow, we realize that we are not alone and that we are together better.

So I want to thank you for celebrating not only some of the disabilities that I have risen above, but some of the invisible disabilities that we all together have risen through and will continue to rise through going forward.

Looking Ahead with Hope

Thank you for gathering tonight. Thank you for celebrating the best of your lives, and thank you for believing, like I do, that the best days of our journey remain in front of us.

So for this time and until next time, this is John O’Leary and tonight is your night. Live it up and live inspired!