Cerebral palsy: What is it, how did I get it,

and stuff like that

I was basically a Guinea pig that helped lay the groundwork

for people with cp to live today

I have what is known as cerebral palsy. CP is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. It usually happens sometimes around birth.

            “In my case, I was found blue in the nursery a couple of hours after I was born. The doctors thought I was fine after they stabilized me and sent me home, but the damage was done. It wasn’t until I was about eighteen months that my mom noticed I wasn’t doing the typical things eighteen months little people do. She took me to doctors who diagnosed me, and it has been quite of a ride since.

This was in the 70s, and not much was done for people like me. A few got by, but most people were sent away. I was the first generation that got a chance to live outside of an institution. I was basically a Guinea pig that helped lay the groundwork for people with CP to live today. My first wheelchair was nothing more than what you see in hospitals.  Kids today have those cool lightweight chairs. I wish I had one as a kid, but no I had to be the one to help people come up with those designs. Life is not fair!

CP comes in all forms and sizes. Some people can walk while others need 24-hour care. Maybe some would argue with this, but I’d say that I’m somewhere in the middle. All four of my limbs and my speech are affected, but once I’m in my chair I’m pretty much independent. Some people are much more affected, and that might even means a form of mental retardation. I also have some friends who you wouldn’t even know had cp. They might have a limp or some thing like that, but that’s about all. I knew someone at my church for almost two years before I knew she had cp. That’s how hidden her disability was.

            I don’t want to bore you with facts about cp, but if you have any questions, please see my link page for websites about cerebral palsy. Let’s move on to more important stuff.

            Oh one more thing about the computer I use to give presentations. My speech is sometimes difficult to understand, I’m using my speech synthesizer to present this talk. I’ve found that most people can understand me pretty well, but I get tired when I talk for a long period of time. This computer makes it a lot easier. I don’t use it like I could, but it’s a tool that I’m happy to have in my bag of tricks.