Golden Threads
Leanne Watson · 50 min
Leanne Watson's candid account of living with limb girdle muscular dystrophy — navigating a progressive diagnosis with pragmatism, humour, and an unshakeable network of love — challenges every assumption about what it means to thrive with disability.
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Leanne Watson was 42 when she got the diagnosis that would reshape her life: limb girdle muscular dystrophy, a progressive neuromuscular disorder that slowly takes away muscle function. For years before that, she had sought answers. Doctors dismissed her weight loss around her hips and thighs as normal aging, suggested she hit the gym, even made her parade in front of them in her underwear. A newly qualified GP finally took her seriously, ordered the right blood tests, and within weeks Leanne had her answer. What followed was nearly two decades of incremental loss: first high heels became impossible, then getting off a toilet seat, then each small shift stacked on top of the last.
What protected Leanne from despair was pragmatism and her husband Gary's refusal to treat her diagnosis as hers alone. He reframed it as something that happened to both of them. He identified that her energy was best spent on things that would bring her joy, not on housework. He showed up every single day. Her children rallied. Friends adapted. And Leanne did something crucial: she reached out to community. She joined a book club, connected with Women with Disabilities Victoria, hosted a weekly radio show, and now runs a podcast about muscular dystrophy from home while she still can.
What emerged from all this is a clear-eyed account of what inclusion actually looks like and what it doesn't. A cafe worker who made eye contact with Leanne first, asked her order directly, handed her the change naturally. Strangers in pearls who offered unsolicited prayers. Men who cracked jokes about wheelchair speed limits, meaning well but reinforcing her otherness. Leanne's message is direct: treat disabled people like you'd treat anyone else. Ask if they need help instead of assuming. And if you're struggling with isolation or despair, make one phone call to a community group. You'll be surprised how willing people are to make space for you.
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