I have a 9 yr old son that has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and cortical vision impairment. When he was diagnosed at 4 months we had no idea of all that this diagnosis entailed and how it would affect our lives.
Let me just say that it has been a different type of whirlwind. We have had our ups and downs with the ups winning. My son is totally dependent on us with all things like feeding, bathing, he is still in diapers, etc. He has started talking some which is wonderful.
Despite all this my son has made a positive impact on our lives. He has introduced my husband and me to a special world with wonderful people. Through my son I have met some of the most amazing children and adults that I would not have otherwise had the opportunity to meet.
We have experienced things and people that would have been lost to us otherwise. We have our moments of frustration like any other family but overall life is great. My son has opened my eyes in ways I never thought possible. I know he will probably always be with us and I will tell you that I look forward to a lifetime with him.
We all feel frustration, it is normal. In life there are all types of situations and ours is just a special one that adds adventure and hope and love. Our son is truly a blessing and will continue to enhance our lives.
Deana B.
Adairsville, GA
Visit Deana’s Website: http://teamlittlejake.wordpress.com
Did you know the body adjusts its biological rhythm according to the foods that we eat and the changes we experience in our environment? We’ve all heard that what we consume has a huge impact on our health and wellness, but did you know that in many different cultures, it’s no coincidence that fasting and omitting certain foods from our diet occurs when the seasons change? The body rids itself of toxins and prepares for changes in both the weather and availability of certain foods. Fascinating!
Want to learn more? Health in Motion Rehabilitation center located in Toronto, Ontario will be holding their “Special Needs Nutrition Workshop” between 11 a.m.and 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, at the Bathurst Medical Building. The free workshop will cover:
- ways to improve digestion
- insight on how certain foods can affect your child
- tips for a healthy lifestyle
- other nutrition related topics for children with special needs
About Presenter Natan Gendelman, D.O.M.P.
Natan Gendelman is licensed as a physical therapist in Russia and Israel, and is certified as a kinesiologist and osteopathy manual practitioner in Canada. Natan has more than 20 years of experience providing treatment for neurological conditions. He is the director of Health in Motion Rehabilitation located in Toronto, ON.
To Enroll
Call 1-416-250-1904 or register by email at healthinmotion@bellnet.ca
For more information on Health in Motion Rehabilitation and its programs, visit the Health in Motion Rehabilitation website at:
http://www.healthinmotionrehab.com./conditions-children-cerebral-palsy.php
Enrollment is limited.
(For those outside the Toronto area, perhaps we can request a link to their awesome presentation tidbits!… I’ll keep you posted!)
Don’t forget to sign-up for their newsletter
Health in Motion Rehabilitation publishes the “Good Health News” newsletter. The April 2012 newsletter covers topics such as:
- How milk and milk products can pose problems despite their nutritional benefits
- The connection between junk food diets and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Nutrition and the first days of spring
- LIFE (Learning Independent Function Everyday) program information
To subscribe to their wonderful newsletter, email info@healthinmotionrehab.com
My name is Roderick Oishi. I’m 52 years old (Born 1959 in Honolulu Hawaii) and have Cerebral Palsy (Mild). I too went to special school when I was young and transferred to a regular school. Many of my family members had thought of me as not normal and did not think I stood a chance of being independent because of my Condition, yet I have graduated from high school and went to do work for awhile at vocational rehab centers.
I wanted more of a challenge and moved on and did volunteer work for such a place as the Maritime Center (Falls of Clyde) and the Mighty Mo. In May of 1998 I had decided to try out for the US Coast Guard Auxiliary and as of now I’m one of few people who has gotten in to this volunteer organization. I have been with it for 14 years and it has changed my life.
I have overcome a lot of Obstacles despite being physically challenged. It helped me to realize that I can be normal like everyone else!
Roderick Oishi
(Posted by MyChild at Mr. Oishi’s urging. Mr. Oishi wishes to share his journey in hopes that his story will help inspire others with cerebral palsy to overcome the obstacles in their lives.)
November 9, 2011
Collaborate…Challenge, Change!
December 1, 2011 – Mobility International USA (MIUSA) is celebrating their 30th Anniversary with the 2011 International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 1, 2011, beginning at 5:00 a.m. (U.S. Pacific Standard Time PST).
The event is a 24-hour virtual gathering open to the public, particularly:
- Passionate, disabled activists or disability rights ally.
- Persons with a disability who participated in an international exchange program.
- International exchange professional interested in outreach to the disability community.
- MIUSA international exchange program alumni from the past 30 years from all around the world.
- Member of staff of an international Disabled Peoples’ Organization (DPO) or other disability organization in any country around the world.
- Members or staff of an international Disabled Peoples’ Organization (CPO) or other disability organization in any country around the world.
Topics include:
- How to study abroad including funding opportunities
- Coming to the U.S. for school or professional work
- Expanding professional development and capacity building opportunities for people with disabilities and grassroots disability organizations in the U.S. and throughout the world
- How to network with international disability organizations
- Ways to become a citizen diplomat or encourage civic participation
- Disability inclusion topics specific to your region, country, and/or community.
To learn more, call (541)343-1284.
November 9, 2011
The Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare has proposed a new act to provide up to 30 million in compensation for newborns or moms who die during childbirth.
Starting in 2013, the government and the doctor(s) will also be required to compensate for babies diagnosed with cerebral palsy during birth, even if there’s no proof that the doctor’s mistake caused the accident, according to arirang, Korea’s Global TV.
The Ministry hopes to more efficiently resolve prolonged lawsuits.
For more information, arirang – Government to Compensate Medical Accidents that Happen while Giving Birth
November 9, 2011
It was a 42-inch television, large by many standards. The family couldn’t really afford the purchase, but invested in the value. For Jayden Williams, a 14-year-old teen from Rotorua, New Zealand, it wasn’t about the money, it was escape. Pure entertainment. It lasted seven months.
Jayden who has cerebral palsy looked forward to playing computer games after intense physical therapy sessions. Now, days after a robbery, Jayden sits staring at the place the computer is no longer.
“We came into a little bit of money and we got a really good deal on this TV so we decided to put the money into buying it,” explains Tracy Mosen, Jayden’s mother. He isn’t able to run around town and play like other teen’s his age.
Jayden lives with his mother, a sister and a brother. The brother had left the back door unlocked when he stepped out for the evening which provided the robbers easy access.
“No one has come in the house before and certainly not while we were sleeping,” Mosen said. “We certainly can’t afford a new one and insurance is just way too expensive.”
“He is just so upset this has happened,” Mosen said. In fact, in an effort to retrieve his television Jayden is offering $100 of his own money as a reward for information on his television’s whereabouts. He posted the offer on his Facebook account.
For more information, The Daily Post, Whakatane, New Zealand – Cerebral palsy patient’s TV taken.
October 31, 2011
Elliott: Triple-Play Plus Fishing
It’s been about one month since the Hunt of a Lifetime and Elliot is still excited.
“I was just talking to my buddy, William. He was excited to hear about it. He is spreading the word, too, about this,” Elliot says, sitting in the living room with his mother on this day when school is off for teacher meetings. “I will be 13 in January. I am a sixth grader and proud of it, too.”
Elliot also is proud to recite the names of the volunteers who helped him prepare and enjoy the hunt event. “It was a big deal for me and it was exciting.”
As part of the process to prepare for his first hunt, Elliot registered for a local hunter safety course. “I enjoyed every minute of it and every minute of every day leading up to the Hunt of a Lifetime.”
While Elliot is a skilled conversationalist with an optimistic view on life, he did admit his usual flowing commentary stopped when he arrived at the Rands’ impressive cabin that was his to call home for three days.
“I was speechless for 10 minutes,” Elliot says. His mother and DNR Conservation Warden Jeremy Peery, are quick to challenge the time without an Elliot commentary, and he relents but emphasizes how impressed he was to find the cabin “completely accessible” and so easy for him to maneuver.
He didn’t waste much time settling in and headed for target practice with the new sip and puff firearm. “I nailed it,” he says of the target.
He also nailed a 10-point buck hours later — with about two minutes left of the legal hunting day. A photo of the deer, and Elliot with his father and grandfather, is one of his prize possessions from the event.
The deer head is being mounted, Elliot says. But it won’t be going in the family’s living room to join the other deer mounts from his father. Why? “Because it’s bigger than his,” Elliot says with a big smile. “So it’s going in my bedroom.”
The harvested buck was just the first day and hours after his arrival.
Up by 6 a.m. the next day and after a quick call to his mom, Elliot and company were out the door on a bear hunt with Peery, Rands and a group of volunteer hunters with their hounds. That outing ended with Elliot harvesting a 150-pound bear which is on its way to becoming a bear rug.
Back to the cabin for food and it was back to the woods when Elliot got a doe.
“They called it a triple-play,” he says of his three successful hunts in about 24 hours. “The other kid, Ryan, did it, too.”
Two children are selected to participate in each Hunt of a Lifetime. Ryan, a boy from Cumberland, was Elliot’s hunting partner for this event.
The animals harvested by Elliot are off to processing and will return to Elliot’s home for a lot of dinners and lunches.
An evening banquet on the last night at the cabin was attended by the families, volunteers and even some youths who hunted in past events. “It was a good old time and I had a blast.”
How did Elliot celebrate? Fishing the next day before coming home.
Elliot and his mother, Amanda, have no hesitation in urging other kids to get in on the event.
“Most people will describe me as a nice person – and that I’m in a wheelchair. Not all CP people are in a wheelchair,” Elliot says, adding that didn’t stop him from going on a Hunt of a Lifetime.
He would enjoy more hunting, but “the equipment is expensive and we can’t afford it.”
Elliot stops and looks toward his mother and says he wasn’t insulting her. She smiles and says she understands. For Amanda, who grew up in a hunting family, she had no fears encouraging Elliot to participate in a hunting event. The emphasis was on safety and the boys always had skilled volunteers – like Warden Peery – by their sides.
For Amanda, it was Elliot’s chance to be with a lot of good people and make new friends that sold her.
“The hunt itself is great. But being able to meet other people, having Elliot meet people and make friends – and knowing there was another boy in a wheelchair who would be there – that’s what makes a big difference,” Amanda Ewer says. “Rusk County isn’t big. But it’s amazing how many people put so much into this – and to be able to meet those great people.
“This was a big deal – being able to make friends,” she says. “And, yes, we can’t afford the equipment to allow Elliot to have such an awesome experience.”
Elliot says he hopes other kids like him would go.
“If you get a chance, go on this hunt. They make is accessible for you. They make it as fun as possible. I didn’t feel any fear of anything,” Elliot says, adding he’d tell that to any other child in the same health situation as his. “I think it, the Hunt of a Lifetime, would help them feel more confident and, yes, raise their self-esteem. I am ready to take on just about anything.”
Besides all the fun, what did he learn specifically from the host – Bill Rands?
“He told me: ‘Keep your head up and keep smiling.’ And that’s what I do every day. I’ve been like that my whole life.”
To see pictures of Elliott, his group, and their catch, Elliott: A Triple-Play Plus Fishing
– Joanne M. Haas, Bureau of Law Enforcement, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
For more information on this opportunity:
Joanne M. Haas
Bureau of Law Enforcement
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
RE: Hunt of a Lifetime
101 S. Webster
P.O. Box 7921
Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7921
(606)266-2621
October 28, 2011
HomeChoice Healthcare, North Carolina
HomeChoice Healthcare, with five offices in North Carolina, has a desire and dedication to share what services are available for our clients in need of assistance with activities of daily living or personal care services.
We recognize the need for individuals to maintain their independence and quality of life by remaining in their homes for as long as possible.
We work with both children and adults and many qualify for our services with no out-of-pocket expenses.
HomeChoice is committed to providing the highest level of quality care and customer service to the community for one basic reason…Because we care!
Our administrative staff collectively has over 75 years experience in the medical profession.
During the initial evaluation, a specialized plan of care is designed to meet client needs. We provide one-on-one assistance.
HomeCare Healthcare currently has five offices, covering 12 counties, in southeastern North Carolina – Dunn, Fuquay Varina, Southern Pines, Raleigh and Wake Forest
Visit us online:
HomeChoice Healthcare
HomeChoice Healthcare
715 North Main Street
Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526
(919)557-4663
For more information, contact Lyn Brandenburg, Home Care Coordinator (919)369-6896
October 28, 2011
A Day in My Life…The week day begins at 6:30 a.m. even though my alarm starts ringing at 6. I wake up looking at beautiful Lake Michigan from the 40th floor of my Chicago hi-rise condo. My day officially starts by watching a 15 minute subliminal video on health and wealth. Then I do the normal shower, shave and dress for work. Luckily most days are casual, so jeans and t-shirts rule.
Next is my morning commute from the city to the suburbs, Oak Brook, Illinois to be exact. What should take about 25 minutes is always an hour or more due to crazy Chicago traffic. I am an information junkie so I have CD’s that range from sales success to life success, always trying to make the best use of my time.
When I get to work, it is a day filled with sales calls, contract negotiation, looking for new clients, staff meetings, etc.
I usually take a break for lunch and grab a quick bite with my girlfriend.
After work consists of many different things from working out – which I have to get serious about – to movies, dinners, concerts, sporting events and festivals, to name a few.
Most evenings I get home between 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. I try to read for at least one-half hour before I hit the pillow and before – you know it! – I hear that all too familiar beeping that signals it’s time to get up and do it all over again.
…a day in my life.
Oh, by the way, I have cerebral palsy. It doesn’t define me.
Cheers,
Al
Albert Ramirez, 50, sales manager, is one of the 100 chosen by Jack Canfield, originator of Chicken Soup for the Soul(R) series, to participate in The Success Principles ™: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.
October 21, 2011
Calling All Parents and Caretakers!
Do you find yourself changing an infant/toddler’s bib many times throughout the day? Are their clothes saturated from drooling – in need of constant change? Would you love only one bib a day without having to change outfits all day?
Imagine – One Bib All Day Long with Dribble Bibble!!!
This new multi-purpose bib has an amazing material that allows drool to be quickly absorbed into the fabric and dries within minutes. It not only helps with drool but with formula and milk, as well. The bib even reverses for solid food feeding. It includes a pocket to catch food causing less mess on the floor.
Dribble Bibble is Three Bibs in One!
Use Dribble Bibble for drool, for drinking, and for solid food intake.
Dribble Bibble is great for traveling. Caretakers have the freedom to relax. Less bodily contact with drool enhances skin health. It is the best investment a parent can make for their little one who drools.
Hi, My Name is Deborah Rothschild
My name is Deborah Rothschild, inventor of Dribble Bibble bibs. I’m a speech therapist who created this product out of pure necessity for my own son. Like many babies, my son constantly drooled during the teething stages. Like many parents, I was changing bibs all day long. His clothes were often drenched. I yearned for that perfect bib.
One day I was giving my son a bath and my outfit became wet from his splashes, but within minutes it dried. I recall thinking, “Wow, this material would make a great fabric for a bib.” That’s when I went searching online and in the New York garment district for answers.
I found the fabric, my mother made a prototype, and we tested it on my son. It was a success! I could finally leave one bib on all day and his clothing stayed dry.
Working in the field of speech language pathology, I quickly realized the benefits this bib would have for those caring for a child with special needs.
For more information on Dribble Bibble visit www.dribblebibble.com
Deborah Rothschild
DVR Enterprises
Web: http://dribblebibble.com/
Email: DribbleBibble@gmail.com
If you are an adult in need of drool or dribble control, contact Deborah Rothschild to discuss custom design solutions.
