I am a writer from Albany, NY who has Cerebral Palsy. If you are not familiar with CP, there are many different manifestations of it. The cause of cerebral palsy is a brain injury or brain malformation that occurs while the brain is developing — before, during, or after birth. As a result of the brain damage, a person’s muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone, reflex, or posture and balance can be affected. A person with CP may just have a tight, crooked hand, or they could be completely non-verbal. Some may need a feeding tube due to an inability to chew, or they may be confined to a wheelchair. I have a lot of trouble with muscle control and coordination, so I have been in a wheelchair my whole life. This has given me a different perspective on life.
Yes, I’m in a wheelchair, but I can talk and carry on a conversation, though I have slurred speech. I have had a seizure disorder since birth. Thankfully, I have not had a major seizure in the past five years! Sometimes I have “seizure activity” happening in my brain that is not visible on the outside, but it does cause problems with my neurological function. The main problem with this aspect of my disability is that I experience short-term memory loss. When I try to relate a story to you, you may think that I’m making things up, but I may not be able to remember all of the facts the way they actually happened. If I’m experiencing minor seizure activity while I’m having a normal conversation, you won’t see any indication of it on the outside. I hear what the other person is saying quite well, but I don’t absorb it. Most of my friends are used to it, though. They just laugh and then tell me what happened again. Actually, we all laugh about it. Yes, even me. It’s one of those situations where you need to laugh about it, because that’s about the only thing that you can do to forget the inconvenience of CP.
Here’s another example; if I’m at a restaurant with friends or family, I choose what I want to eat, even though the menu tends to look very busy and overwhelming to me. We wait patiently for the waiter, but by the time he or she comes to take my order, I have completely forgotten what I wanted. Shaking their heads, with a laugh, my dinner companions will point to the menu to show me the item that I intended to order. Usually, when they point to my selection, I suddenly remember what it was that I had wanted. Whoever serves us, if they listen closely, can understand my speech the majority of the time.
I hope to relate more life stories and situations to you in the coming months. As I hope you can already see, the correct attitude for being handicapped, or even caring for somebody who’s handicapped, is patience, love, and a great sense of humor.
