Cerebral Palsy

Did you know that there are about 200,000 cerebral palsy cases every year in the United States? Cerebral palsy can be detected while in a mother’s womb and will not progress over time. The brain can be damaged and cause the body to lose muscle movement. As of right now, there is no known cure for it and that it can be lifelong. One of the symptoms can be seizures, which means the person can be in the hospital for weeks. One of my friends has cerebral palsy and he is in the 1st grade right now. Even though he has cerebral palsy, that doesn’t keep him from doing what he loves, which is playing the drums and talking like Elvis. For Halloween this year, his parents are going to connect his drums to his automatic wheelchair so he can play them while trick-or-treating. He and his family have been able to travel to Disney world together because of his make a wish and he absolutely loved it. He has a younger brother that is in kindergarten and he loves to ride on the back of the wheelchair with him and they are still able to play together. Every time I see him, he always puts a smile on my face. He loves to give fist bumps, so every time that you see him, he will lift his hand to give you a fist bump. Seeing him do a lot of stuff that you wouldn’t think he would be able to do gives me hope and know to never give up. During October there is a day just for cerebral palsy to raise awareness and to show people that cerebral palsy patient numbers are still rising. With medications and supportive treatments, one can be better and learn how to talk and be able to walk for a little at a time.