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An 18-year-old high school student took to Reddit's "Am I the A**hole" forum after a conflict erupted between her and her mother. The post, found here, has gone viral since it was shared on Sunday, racking up over 15,000 upvotes and 1,500 comments.
As Redditor u/snowflakefairy_06 explained, she was paralyzed in a car accident four years ago—a fact which is relevant to her current dilemma. "It has been hell having to learn a new way of life but I haven't let that stop me," she said in the post.
According to a 2017 report from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCSC), the U.S. sees about 17,500 new cases of spinal cord injury each year. The majority of these result from "vehicle crashes," but falls, acts of violence and sports are also contributors.
However, the Redditor is now thriving: She will be "going to a college out of state next year, and graduating in the top ten percent in [her] school if things continue as they are."
But besides the "obvious" negative impacts of her injury, she wrote that there is "one major thing that is a complete bummer."
"My mom thinks that I am now a free babysitter for whenever one of my older brother or sisters needs one," she explained. "She never consults me on these and expects me to drop plans at the drop of a hat."
"This past Monday I told my parents about a Christmas movie extravaganza sleepover my friend has been planning," continued the Redditor. "It's gonna be three girls and we were planning on making brownies, cookies, [and] watching really cheesy Christmas themed romantic movies. And just girl stuff. It was on Saturday ... and my parents said they had no problem with it."
But on Saturday, as the teen was leaving for the event, her mom told her that her older sister was on her way to drop off her kids—three boys, aged 10, 6, and 3. "Apparently she asked mom if I could babysit the other day and she said yes. Didn't even bother telling me about it," said the Redditor.
When the teen refused to babysit her nephews, citing that she already had plans, the her mom "ended up storming off." Meanwhile, the Redditor headed to her friend's house as planned.
The conflict only worsened when the Redditor came home the following day. Because she left, the teen's sister "was left without anyone to watch the kids [during] her [husband's] work Christmas party." She said she was accused of going back on her word—despite never having made any promises herself.
"Mom told me that I should be grateful she gives me something to look forward to (babysitting) because I have no real social life being paralyzed," noted the teen.
Readers were quick to offer the Redditor their support—and offered her advice for how to manage, or even escape, her "abusive" family dynamic.
"I would stop helping her and go on in life," wrote u/Fit-Distribution-252. "Please ignore her comments. I know they hurt but they are never true. It's harder for you than it ever was for me, as I was paralyzed at the age of 5. I'm sending you all the hugs."
"NTA. Your family members all suck. If your mom is that concerned about your sister having a babysitter, she can watch the kids herself," noted u/NUT-me-SHELL in a top-voted comment.
While u/snowflakefairy_06 did not reply to Newsweek's request for comment, she did provide an update for invested readers. "Plans are being put into motion for me to move in with my friend and her family," she wrote. "Tomorrow she has work and hopefully by tomorrow evening I will not be living under her roof."
