{"id":144554,"date":"2025-05-19T12:48:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T17:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=144554"},"modified":"2025-05-19T12:48:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T17:48:31","slug":"cronkite-news-native-influencer-shares-life-with-a-disability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/05\/19\/cronkite-news-native-influencer-shares-life-with-a-disability\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Native influencer shares life with a disability"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Dani<\/a>
In her home in Phoenix, Arizona, content creator and model Dani Medina shares her experience using a mobility aid. She is seen here on March 26, 2025. Photo by Cheyla Daverman \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n
Phoenix disability creator Dani Medina shares her experience living with a rare chronic illness<\/div>\r\n
Monday, May 19, 2025<\/div>\r\n
By Cheyla Daverman<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nPHOENIX — Dani Medina thought she was dying. A rare genetic disorder and a severe case of COVID-19 left her rapidly declining. Her response was to pack her bags: \u201cI\u2019m just gonna travel and then die.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nShe started to post more on her social media about her illness, creating a bucket list of places she wanted to go, seeking answers from a bigger community and documenting the journey along the way.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nMedina, 26, is Pascua Yaqui and was born and raised in the Maryvale area of Phoenix. She is witty and flashes her bright, inviting smile as she laughs between her sentences. Her left nostril is pierced, and her dark curly hair waves down to the middle of her back.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAt 8, she started playing basketball, but any minor collision would cause \u201cmajor immediate bruising or bleeding,\u201d so she was often benched. No one thought to ask why.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI was born with this, and nobody really caught it because it\u2019s rare,\u201d Medina said.\r\n

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A post shared by Dani \u2728 (@the.dani.adventure)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\r\n