CEREBRAL PALSY:THE TRUE STORY OF MY

EVERYDAY LIFE

By: Tracey Michael

Photo retrieved from Google.com

• March is Cerebral Palsy (CP) Awareness Month and I have CP

• My mom told me when I was born I did not have enough oxygen going to my brain. Because of this I have CP. My mom and dad did not know right away that this happened.

Tracey at birth.

Tracey at 18 months old

Tracey at 10 months old

Tracey at 4 years old

Tracey at 4 years old

Tracey at 4 years old

Tracey at 6 years old

* My Parents raised me to believe that I am just like every other child. Their wish for me was to attend school and hang out with my peers regardless of their abilities and have a fun childhood.

Tracey at 18 months Tracey at 3 years oldTracey at 2 years old Tracey at 3 years old

• Between the time I was born and until I was 8 years old, I would have seizures about 3 or 4 times a month. I remember waking up in the middle of the night and having a seizure. It felt like my whole body was twitching. My cousin would get my parents and they would give me my medicine and then they would call 911. I do not remember getting home from the hospital because I was sleeping. I just remember waking up the next morning with a really big headache.

• There was a lot of treatment. Many doctors wanted my parents to believe that they could make be better. Some doctors thought that if they increased my medication that this would end the seizures. They were wrong. They got worse. Other doctors were able to stop my seizures.

• Every once in a while I have muscle spasms and my muscles get really tight. I still can not do all the normal daily things by myself (i.e. get myself ready in the morning; put on my shoes; get my own food out for dinner, etc… I try not to think about the things I can not do because I will be depressed all the time if I do.

Tracey age 4

Tracey age 13

Tracey age 12Tracey age 8

• People always tell me “you are always so happy all the time and you have the best smile” but they do not know why. If I do not smile every day, I feel like I will not deal with having CP like the way that I deal with it. So I do not get depressed and say, “Why me?” What is the point every single day crying?

• The hardest part of having CP is always being judged and dealing with people who do not seem to care (i.e. stores, etc…).

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY FAMILY!