My Body Was Folded In Half When I Was Born | BORN DIFFERENT

PARALYMPIAN and TikTok star, Birgitte, was "born folded in half" due to a rare case of arthrogryposis - a condition that causes her to live with a "stiff pelvis, hips, knees, ankles", as well as a severely curved spine. At birth, Birgitte's mother Ellen recalls that it was "not possible" to straighten her legs - so from just two days old, Birgitte immediately went through a series of surgeries, with doctors hoping to enable her to walk. The surgeries "all failed" and Birgitte underwent her final surgery at the age of seven to screw metal rods into her spine. Years later, it was discovered that those rods had snapped, but it was considered too dangerous to operate again, so they remain broken inside her to this day. With surgeries and physiotherapy having left Birgitte with no clear benefit, Ellen turned to "therapeutic riding" on horseback to try to mobilise her daughter. Birgitte took to the sessions and rode with the supervision of a physiotherapist until the age of 19, when she was scouted by the Norwegian para dressage association. Soon, she found herself competing at national championships and then on the international stage, eventually qualifying for the Paralympics in Rio in 2016. During qualifying though, Birgitte suffered whiplash when a long step from her horse caught her off guard: "Because my spine is completely stiff, all the movement came out in my neck... I was so dizzy and I almost fainted". When she returned home, it was confirmed that she had suffered a concussion - and when she suffered a second concussion in a small car accident a year and a half later, Birgitte was left with a brain injury and was "very, very sick". She spent her days lying in the dark, with no sound - a period she describes as "the first time [she] really felt disabled, because [she] couldn't do anything". Although she has recovered somewhat since then, now over eight years later, Birgitte still experiences the "persistent concussion symptoms" and has not been on a horse since the end of 2024. So today, with the help of her assistant Thea, Birgitte is plucking up the courage to jump back in the saddle again in the hope of rediscovering the Paralympian she used to be. But with nerves running high and her horse Cali looking taller than ever, will it be smooth riding for Birgitte, or could it prove to be one step too far?