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

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.)

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

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.