At the start of our lives, we’re each handed unique challenges and opportunities that can serve as barriers or stepping stones toward our dreams. For Shane Burcaw, one of the challenges he has to deal with is his disability.
Burcaw was born with a rare condition of Spinal Muscular Atrophy. However, he didn’t let his condition stop him from living the life of his dreams. He found his success as a blogger, writer, and activist.
Read more about Shane Burcaw’s net worth, biography, and achievements in this article.
What’s Shane Burcaw’s Net Worth?
In 2023, Shane Burcaw’s net worth is estimated at $1 million. He amassed his fortune through the hard work and dedication he puts into his books and YouTube channel.
He also earns money through speaking engagements where he shares his story to inspire others to overcome their challenges.
Who Is Shane Burcaw?
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Shane Burcaw is a famous writer, YouTuber, and activist. He’s well-known for speaking out about ableism, promoting inclusivity, and challenging people’s perceptions about disabilities.
Here’s some information about Shane Burcaw:
- Birthday: May 28, 1992
- Age: 31 years old
- Height: 4’7”
- Spouse: Hannah Aylward
- Parents: Susan and John Burcaw
- Siblings: Andrew Burcaw
He was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic condition affecting one in 6000 babies. The condition causes a person’s muscles to weaken and grow smaller over time. Currently, no cure is available for SMA.
SMA has restricted Burcaw’s mobility from a young age. Despite his disability, he speaks positively about his abilities and limits. He’s written several award-winning books about living with SMA, including Laughing at My Nightmare, Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is a Nurse, and Not So Different.
Burcaw’s life, from his early years to adulthood, proves that disabilities can’t stop people from finding love and success. Here’s why people see him as an inspiration.
Shane Burcaw’s Early Life
Shane Burcaw was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on May 28, 1992. He’s the son of musician John Burcaw and his wife, Susan. He also has a younger brother named Andrew Burcaw.
In his memoir, Laughing at My Nightmare, he chronicles his life as a young boy, then an adult man, living with SMA. He shared that he grew up in a loving and supportive home. However, as a child born with a disability, his childhood was filled with challenges.
After a daycare worker noticed he was too inactive as a baby, his parents took him to a pediatrician and a neurologist.
Several excruciating tests later, Burcaw was diagnosed with SMA. His parents didn’t linger long over the diagnosis before deciding that Burcaw would live a regular life despite his disability.
As a toddler, he could still sit up on his own. However, SMA weakened him so that he needed a wheelchair by the time he was three years old. At night, if he wanted to change his sleeping position, an act most people take for granted, he had to call a family member to help him.
Despite the challenges that came with SMA, Shane’s life isn’t that much different from most teenagers and young adults. In his memoir, he talked about attending high school dances, cutting classes, and drinking alcohol.
In addition, he experienced a string of romantic relationships in his young adulthood. He also attended college and earned his English degree from Moravian College.
Shane Burcaw’s Married Life
Shane Burcaw met his wife, Hannah Aylward, in 2016. She had watched a documentary about Burcaw’s inspiring story and reached out to him through email. They started chatting online until their back-and-forths led them to fall in love.
Soon later, they decided to meet up and thus began their long-distance relationship. The inter-abled couple faced many challenges throughout the years. Strangers they met on the street would assume that Hannah was Shane’s nurse or caregiver.
Shane has also struggled for many years with feeling like a burden to the people around him. Through growth, he’s come to realize that for people who genuinely love, caring for the other person doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. Instead, being there for the person you love comes naturally.
“I know that our life will continue to be hilarious and fun and full of adventure. I feel for the first time in my life that I’m not a burden because Hannah is wholly there for me and doesn’t feel burdened by me,” says Shane.
Despite numerous challenges, the couple’s relationship stayed strong through the years. They were engaged in 2019 and married in a small, backyard wedding in 2020. The pair are optimistic and plan to have children in the future.
Shane Burcaw’s Career
Shane Burcaw started his career as a blogger in 2011. His blog was called “Laughing at My Nightmare.” In it, he talked about funny and unflinchingly honest stories about living with SMA. It slowly gained popularity, attracting millions of readers worldwide.
Following the success of his blog, he published his first book of the same title. The book became a finalist for the 2015 Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).
He published two other books: Not So Different in 2017 and Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse in 2019.
Apart from his writing career, Burcaw also co-founded a non-profit organization called Laughing at My Nightmare, Inc. The organization helps people with muscular dystrophy by providing them with equipment grants, educational programs, and adaptive technology.
Moreover, he’s a successful speaker who is invited to give speeches at TEDx events, schools, and conferences.
Lastly, Shane runs a YouTube channel named Squirmy and Grubs with his wife. They honestly show their relationship with the world through vlogs about their daily life as an inter-abled couple. They also debunk any preconceptions people may have about their relationship.
As of 2023, their channel has 1.41 Million subscribers.
Conclusion
Shane Burcaw shows people facing adversity that they can achieve what they want out of life because our lives are what we make of them. Though your circumstances may seem unfair sometimes, through hard work and determination, you’ll find love and success.
