July 22, 2007
“Locks of Love”
Inspiring story about a young girl with cerebral palsy donating her hair to “Locks of Love.” Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
If anyone is good example of the fact that you’re never too young to make a difference, it’s Hannah Golay.
At just 5 years old, Golay recently decided to cut off her long hair in order to donate it to the organization Locks of Love, which makes wigs out of donated hair for children suffering from illnesses that result in hair loss.
“My hair was really long,” Golay said. “I donated it to Locks of Love. It’s pretty.”
Even at her young age, Golay has seen first-hand how illness and hair loss can affect children.
At 2 years old, Golay was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and her parents were told she might never be able to walk.
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that appears in infancy or early childhood and permanently affects body movement and muscle coordination.
To read entire story visit here. More inspirational stories about cerebral palsy.
June 18, 2007
Wonderful Video Of Team Hoyt
Beautiful ad MUST SEE video about Team Hoyt- the father/son ( who has cerebral palsy) team that have been in almost a hundred marathons together.
From Team Hoyt website : ” Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America. ”
More inspirational cerebral palsy stories.
June 5, 2007
Youth Speaks About Disability for Accessibility Advisory Week
Great Story from the North Humberland News:
Youth speaks about disability for Accessibility Advisory Week
Karen Lloyd
Local News - Tuesday, June 05, 2007 @ 09:00
“My speech is very slow and you need to listen very carefully to understand me,” 13-year-old Zach Andrus informed a small audience at the Port Hope Public Library Thursday night. “I have cerebral palsy.”
The boy’s heartwarming presentation was the first of three organized by the municipality’s accessibility advisory committee during Accessibility Advisory Week to help the public better understand what it’s like to live with a disability.
Deprived of oxygen for 20 minutes at birth, Zach has Cerebral Palsy - a condition he says makes it impossible for him to walk, run get dressed, feed himself or leave the house alone.
Yet, despite his condition, the young man has goals and aspirations for the future.
“I can dream like other kids about what I want to do when I get older,” he said. While his words might not be crystal clear, his message was.
Port Hope and other municipalities across the province need to think about the needs of all residents.
To view the entire story: http://www.northumberlandtoday.com, or read more inspirational stories about people with cerebral palsy.
May 19, 2007
Boy with Cerebral Palsy Becomes Eagle Scout!
A Scout’s story: ‘It’s like being on top of a mountain’
Bethlehem teen conquers challenges of cerebral palsy to earn Boy Scouting’s highest honor.
By Michael Duck Of The Morning Call
Blake Tange’s eyes flashed as he told stories about setting up tents in the middle of the night and sliding down snowy trails with his fellow Boy Scouts — all part of the challenge of Scouting, but an even bigger test for the Bethlehem 17-year-old in Troop 362.
Tange was born with a cyst filling half his brain cavity, leaving him with cerebral palsy and other medical conditions that make standing and walking difficult. But those challenges couldn’t stop him from hiking, camping and knot-tying his way to a ceremony today where he’ll be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout, an honor achieved by only 5 percent of Boy Scouts nationwide.
THE TRAIL TO EAGLE- Accomplishments by Blake Tange, 17-year-old Boy Scout from Bethlehem with cerebral palsy, that helped him reach the rank of Eagle Scout:
Service: Led a team of 25 volunteers to create a wheelchair-accessible nature trail at a center for special-needs children.
Leadership: Served as senior patrol leader (top youth leader in troop), quartermaster (in charge of troop camping equipment) and junior assistant Scoutmaster (assists adult leaders), among other positions.
Skills: Earned 55 merit badges in subjects including camping, first aid, orienteering, personal fitness, wilderness survival and wood carving. (Twenty-one badges are required to reach Eagle Scout.)
Source: Morning Call staff
Related PhotosBlake Tange
(Michael Kubel/The Morning Call) Lehigh Valley Local Links
”I’ve wanted to do this since I was in first grade,” Tange said, beaming. ”It’s like being on top of a mountain.”
To read entire article please visit: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_4scout.5844060may12,0,604731.story?coll=all-news-he, or read more inspirational stories about people with cerebral palsy.
Embracing Disabilities and Breaking Barriers: China’s National Day for the Disabled
Fresno athletic team breaks barriers in China By Vanessa Colón / The Fresno Bee
An athletic team from Fresno flew to China on Thursday to perform a blend of gymnastics, karate kicks, and dance moves with wheelchairs during China’s National Day for the Disabled on Sunday.
They’re performers from Break the Barriers, a Fresno-based nonprofit sports and arts center for the able and disabled. They will show off their skills in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeastern China’s Fujian province.
The 18 athletes and seven professionals will return to the United States on May 28.
The group of teenagers and adults includes members without disabilities and members who are deaf, have Down syndrome or cerebral palsy. But ask them what their disability is and they’ll respond: impatience, cockiness and attitude.
“We are all able and disabled, we have gifts and abilities to share with one another,” said Deby Hergenrader, executive director of Break the Barriers.
This is the third time Break the Barriers has traveled overseas, but the first time they’ve landed in Asia. The group has twice traveled to Romania, where they performed and met “Motivation Romania,” a wheelchair basketball organization.
April 13, 2007
Botox Transforms Girl’s Life
This article from the Sudbury Star is a great example of how Botox therapy is literally changing the lives of thousands of children with cerebral palsy.
Sara Gauthier / For The Sudbury Star
With wide, curious eyes, Jenna Fournier looks around at all the people gathered in the gymnasium at St. Jerome School.
The cameras in particular seem to grab her attention.
Jenna, 5, is an example of what Botox can do for children with spastic cerebral palsy.
“Botox, for us, is a miracle drug,” says her mom, Jennifer Collin. “So, we’re hoping it lasts a long, long time.”
The little girl turns her head toward her mother and leans in. Her forehead rests on her mom’s and their noses touch.
A slight smile appears on Jenna’s face.
“If it wasn’t for the Botox, she’d probably be in a wheelchair right now,” says Collin. “She would not be independent the way she is.
And she’s walking with canes now, too. In the past two years, she went from not walking with a walker, to running with a walker, to walking.”Jenna started getting the Botox injections when she was just 18 months.
To read complete article visit The Sudbury Star
February 28, 2007
Glenda Watson Hyatt’s must read book: “I’ll Do It Myself”
This is really a must read book for anyone affected by cerebral palsy- parents, family and friends will all benefit from reading this enlightening and inspiring autobiography. The book is written by well known accessibility expert Glenda Watson Hyatt, who is also living with cerebral palsy.
For information on her recently published autobiography “I’ll Do it Myself” visit her website http://www.booksbyglenda.com/index.htm.
Her book is candid, well written with humor and warmth.
From her website:
Glenda has cerebral palsy. A lack of oxygen at birth meant she would not be able to walk, her hands would not function well and her speech would be almost impossible to understand. Her parents were advised to institutionalize her. She wouldn’t amount to anything, the experts said.
Yet, this gutsy redhead proved them wrong. Glenda was integrated into a regular classroom long before mainstream was a buzzword. She went on to earn the Canada Cord, the highest award in Girl Guides, and the Outstanding Junior Student Award. The girl who could not walk won a gold medal in horseback riding!
How did she do it? Read Glenda’s inspiring autobiography I’ll Do It Myself, now released! Glenda intimately shares her life story to show others cerebral palsy is not a death sentence, but rather a life sentence.
December 18, 2006
Woman Refuses to let Health Issues Derail Plans
Woman refuses to let health issues derail plans
By Julie Sevrens Lyons
Mercury News
Carol Picchi doesn’t ask “Why me?” even though it would be easy to.
Born with cerebral palsy, she didn’t walk until she was 2. The neurological disorder so crippled her right hand she had to learn to write with her left.
She went through years of physical therapy and attended a school for special-needs children until she was a teen. Then, at age 14, a hip surgery changed her world for good.
It left her unable to walk. Dependent on a wheelchair.
But it didn’t hinder her resolve to succeed.
“You take it with a grain of salt,” she says. “You have to go forward with life.”
Picchi has always insisted on going forward — even though life has had a habit of pushing her backward.
When she was a teen, she finally got the chance to attend a mainstream school, San Mateo’s Aragon High, and relished every minute of it.
“It opened the world to me being around regular kids,” she says. “It was a fun experience. I didn’t want to go back.”
Despite having to adjust to her sudden inability to walk, Picchi graduated from high school on time — making the honor roll. She learned to live independently and was pursuing an accounting degree at San Jose State University. She had a job at Stanford. She was close to graduating.
to read complete article visit: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/16255080.htm
December 8, 2006
Racing to Inclusion: Team Hoyt
This family is often written about, with good reason. They are a father and son team who regularly compete in triathlons in spite of the fact that Rick Hoyt lives with a severe form of cerebral palsy. Their aim to is bring light to those living with cerebral palsy and including them in everyday laspects of ife.
From Team Hoyt Website
Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.
It’s a remarkable record of exertion — all the more so when you consider that Rick can’t walk or talk.
For the past twenty five years or more Dick, who is 65, has pushed and pulled his son across the country and over hundreds of finish lines. When Dick runs, Rick is in a wheelchair that Dick is pushing. When Dick cycles, Rick is in the seat-pod from his wheelchair, attached to the front of the bike. When Dick swims, Rick is in a small but heavy, firmly stabilized boat being pulled by Dick.
At Rick’s birth in 1962 the umbilical cord coiled around his neck and cut off oxygen to his brain. Dick and his wife, Judy, were told that there would be no hope for their child’s development.
“It’s been a story of exclusion ever since he was born,” Dick told me. “When he was eight months old the doctors told us we should just put him away — he’d be a vegetable all his life, that sort of thing. Well those doctors are not alive any more, but I would like them to be able to see Rick now.”
To read full article visit: http://www.teamhoyt.com/history.shtml. Read more inspirational and uplifting stories about cerebral palsy.
November 27, 2006
Overcoming the Odds: Canyon High’s Travis Higgins has found a way to contribute to the Cowboy football program.
Another great news story of a young man overcoming the odds and enjoying life, and the game of football. A very moving story on the challenges Travis Higgins face throughout his life and how he ended up playing football for his school team despite suffering from hemiplegia cerebral palsy.
By Cary Osborne
Signal Sports Editor
Thursday November 23, 2006
Canyon High sophomore Travis Higgins’ statistics are as follows: zero yards rushing, zero yards passing, zero tackles — zero games.
On a Tuesday, three days before Canyon’s first round playoff game against Royal High, Travis watched the Cowboys practice from the steel benches guarding his field — the press box.
Would he like to be out there practicing?
“I wish,” he says. “I wish.”
Travis can’t, though.
Travis suffered a stroke while in his mother Debby’s womb.
Debby doesn’t know when it happened, but said she first noticed something was different about her son when Travis had just turned 1.
“He started not reaching normal milestones,” she says. “I thought he’d be closer to walking.”
She took Travis to the doctor, thinking maybe he had a hip condition, but the X-rays were normal.
She then took him to a neurologist where he was given an MRI.
The right hemisphere of his brain was normal in the printout.
The left was completely black.
Because of the stroke, Travis has a form of cerebral palsy called hemiplegia.
Hemiplegia is an incurable condition that paralyzes one side of the body — Travis’ right side in this case.
Travis will insist he is normal and by first appearance he is.
He likes sports — USC football being his favorite team.
To read full article visit: http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=34546&format=HTML. Read more inspirational and uplifting stories about cerebral palsy.
