Stephanie Fuentes is the Lady in Red this week!

Stephanie is the brilliant Lady in Red this week! Her smile lights up an entire room, she’s confident and knows everything about every broadway musical right now, I swear! This Lady in Red also has cerebral palsy! This is her story:

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Stephanie, what is your story?

“I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when I was 6 months old. I had a seizure that affected my legs. A lot of people that have Cerebral Palsy have had it since birth or a very young age. I found this out recently actually, but when I was born, there was a vein in my brain that wasn’t fully formed yet. I was in the NICU for a long time. Then they released me and 6 months later when my grandma was giving me a bath, my first seizure happened. My mom took me to the hospital right then and there.

On the way to the hospital, I had another seizure. They did surgery and the doctor came out and told them {her parents} that he doesn’t think she will ever be able to walk again. And my mom was like, ‘No. No. Absolutely not.’

She ended up taking me to another hospital, which was Miami Children Hospital. They did another surgery on me and I was able to walk with AFO’s, which are braces. The surgery was to extend my thigh muscles, so I have two scars in between my legs and then two scars on the back of my knees.

I walked for the very first time when I was 6 years old. My grandpa saw me walking, well not walking–ran. I would watch my cousins run around the house all the time and always wanted to try it so then I ran about three steps and then fell. He was the first one to witness it.”

What is Cerebral Palsy?

“It’s the weakness of the muscles basically. And it has to do with the brain, that’s where the word ‘cerebral’ comes from. And it hits everyone differently. There are more severe cases of cerebral palsy. There are more mild. I feel like I have one of the less severe ones. I know people who are wheelchair bound.”

You can also find more information on Cerebral Palsy Here.

Did you have to take Physical Therapy?

“I was in physical therapy until I was 19. I’d have continued, was supposed to continue, but the insurance got in the way and blah blah, it was just a mess. I stopped wearing them [the braces] when I was 16 because I found out I was going to have to wear them indefinitely and that really messed me up.

With time, if you get better, the braces will get shorter, and eventually will be like an ankle bracelet. That’s what I was holding onto but when I heard my mom say it [the braces] was going to be indefinite I made the decision to not wear them anymore. We had a huge fight coming back from the hospital but I made the decision. I feel like I made the right decision but was it the best? I don’t know. I’ve been without the braces since 2015. When I moved here [New York], I left them in Florida.”

Growing up, did people accept you for who you are?

“There were definitely times where people hadn’t. I wasn’t prepared for that because my family had me in a bubble and sheltered as far as, ‘We’re going to keep her happy. We’re going to not let her see the other part of the world.’ I felt like I was kept in a bubble. People would bully me, obviously, but I was too scared to tell my mom because it would become a whole thing so I never told her how bad it was. They made fun of the way I walked, imitate the way that I walked. They would call me names and that actually went into middle school as well.

In high school, I went to a technical school and was in the theater program. There were also people there, not physically disabled, but very often see others that had disabilities.”

Does this affect your every day life?

“Yes, 100 percent. Stairs are a nightmare and walking long distances or standing for long periods of time, which I’ve gotten better at, thankfully, but there are definitely a lot of those challenges. Nothing hurts, it just makes me very very tired.

It also impacts me daily in the way where I often trip over the smallest things. Cracks on the floor, on the sidewalks, etc. I often trip over my own foot when I’m walking, so I have to pay super close attention to what’s on the floor below me. I also drag my feet when I walk so that means I often get holes in my shoes after a couple of weeks. So a new pair of shoes don’t always last. Also, in the winter and in the cold weather, my muscles get stiff and it gets hard to walk/do things sometimes. Other people with CP also deal with this issue as well.”

Does Cerebral Palsy prevent you from doing anything?

“No. People think I can’t do shit but I just prove them wrong. It’s really fun to prove them wrong.”

Do you get negative feedback from your disability and if you do, how does this make you feel?

“Um… I don’t. Everyone has, thankfully, been very open and welcoming towards me.”

We love to hear it Steph!

What advice do you have for other people that may be in a similar spot than you.

“I would say that if there’s something you really want and if there’s something you’re extremely passionate about, to just go for it. To say “Fuck em and just do it.” Because there were so many people that doubted me, including my own family, and they said I would never make it to New York and that I would never become a performer but now I’m out here, doing the thing.”

What are some things that make you feel happy?

“Listening to music or being surrounded by people that I know love me for me and want me to succeed. And doing stuff that people put limits on me for.”

What are some of your hobbies?

“I love Taylor Swift, so anything Taylor swift. Taylor Swift is a lifestyle. I love going to see theater, and shows, and seeing the people that I love and support in those shows. Performing, acting, and taking voice lessons and dance class is something I love too. I love watching my comfort movies. ‘Inside Out’ is a big one.”

What is your favorite Broadway Show and favorite song from it?

“Back to the future. The Cast is incredible. They have this giant Act I finale and it’s called Something About That Boy. My favorite person ever is Liana Hunt and she plays Lorraine currently and it’s one of her big numbers and watching her do that is so good. There’s a giant fight sequence, it’s chaos but it’s choreographed chaos and it’s just SO GOOD.”

Stephanie has seen this show 18 times. WOOHOO.

What is your favorite Quote?

“It’s from the Cher Show, Stephanie J Block said at the very end of the show, ‘Being a goddess warrior isn’t about being scared. It’s being shit scared and facing it anyways.'”