AMBITIOUS, vibrant and active, with a can-do attitude and a sense of humour which she admits is on the bawdy side, 36-year-old Annamaria Hares is like any other young woman, despite being afflicted with a malformation of the skeletal system.

She is surrounded by her nieces and neighbours’ children, whom she treats as her own. This is nothing new to Annamaria, as she and three other siblings were raised by her father after her mother passed away when she was only five.

As the eldest child, Annamaria had to help take care of the others, even as she attended St. Mary’s Primary at Soesdyke, then Soesdyke Community High. She is a disciplinarian, and though she’ll spoil, sometimes she’ll discipline as needed, not hesitating to use the rod.

And you’d better not call her disabled or differently-abled.

Of her condition, scoliosis, Annamaria says she doesn’t have a “disability”, but a physical imperfection. Scoliosis of the spine is a medical condition in which a person’s spine is curved from side to side. Although it is a complex, three-dimensional deformity, on an X-ray viewed from the rear, the spine of an individual with scoliosis may look more like an “S” or a “C”, rather than a straight line.

Scoliosis is typically classified as either congenital — caused by vertebral anomalies present at birth; idiopathic — cause unknown, but sub-classified as infantile, juvenile, adolescent, or adult, according to when onset occurred; or neuromuscular — having developed as a secondary symptom of another condition, such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy, or physical trauma.

A lesser-known cause of scoliosis could be a condition called Chiari malformation.

Although the condition could be treated when you are very young, Annamaria says she is unwilling to take the risks now. Her condition is painful, she says, if she harasses herself. She has also developed arthritis, but it hasn’t bothered her in a while, so she just lives her life normally.
Annamaria has had her share of challenges, a major one being able to find a job. Some people are put on the spot, not wanting to tell her why she can’t have a job; others are honest enough to give her a straight answer. When she was younger, she wanted to be a nurse, but when she went to apply, the recruiter took one look at her and told her she would not have been able to cope with the challenges.

Annamaria has been cooking since she was seven. She recently started a small business in which she sells to her community snacks she has prepared herself. She notes that while at this time her business is going through the crawling stages, she is taking it one step at a time to achieve her dream of becoming a full-fledged businesswoman who owns her own grocery and snackette and creates employment.

Her dream is to hire at least four persons to work with her: Two for the grocery and two for the snackette. She tried running a business before, but abandoned it to go to St Kitts. This time around, there is no turning back, she said. She was aided to start-up her business by ‘S-4’, a local charity that helps women.

Even though Annamaria likes to cook, she says she does not like to eat, but could drink coffee and Coca-Cola all day.

Admittedly addicted to the social network, Facebook, she is part of a group of Guyanese women who share information on their lifestyles. Unlike her page, which suggests that she likes trendy shoes, Annmaria says she is “not a fashion goddess”, and dresses up only when going to a wedding. She does like bargains, and cannot resist entering a discount store.

Despite her bubbly personality, Annamaria says she is a very shy person. She attributes this trait to her mother being from Berbice and her (Annamaria) growing with a lot of restrictions.

To other persons with physical challenges, Annamaria says: “Accept it as a positive, and don’t let it get you down.” According to her, she faces negative people every day, “but they are not coming to my house and my place, so I am happy.”