Kindness, Grit, And A New Hip

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What happens when grit, humor, and sharp self-advocacy meet a system that still talks over disabled people? We sit down with author, podcaster, and athlete Win Charles for a wide-open conversation about cerebral palsy, pain that won’t be ignored, and the stubborn hope that keeps her training for Kona even as she prepares for a hip replacement at 37.

Win breaks down what CP actually feels like—spasticity that clamps like a rubber band, a startle reflex that can derail recovery—and the cascading impact of a fall that left her hip 50 degrees out of the socket. She shares the moments that cut deepest: being dismissed at the ER, a pre-op staffer asking others to sign for her, and an anesthesiologist who brushed off her documented allergy. Through it all, she models what real advocacy sounds like: clear language, repeated boundaries, and a refusal to surrender decision-making power over her own body.

We widen the lens to education, where accommodations exist on paper but often vanish in practice. Win calls out professors who skip IEPs, highlights the invisible labor students carry, and offers concrete steps for allies: learn the basics of CP and disability, shadow a special education teacher, and design access before it’s requested. Then we come back to the everyday—the narrow clinic doorway, the broken door button, the shower that turns into a puzzle—because access lives or dies in these small, solvable details.

There’s joy here too. Win's Ironman story challenges every lazy myth about disability and ambition, and her rebuild plan after surgery is both disciplined and hopeful. The throughline is simple and strong: speak to the person, not the aide; hold the door when the button fails; believe people when they describe their bodies; and when it’s your turn to move, just do it.

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