(AT)
My mom and dad knew something was wrong before I was 2, because I was wobbly when I was sitting or standing. The doctor's told us I had a mild cerebral palsy and it woulan't get any worse.
I had a great time in gymnastics class with my friends. I loved the running and tumbling and the trampoline, my instructor told my mom I had great muscles in my legs, the only thing I had trouble with was the balance beam. Then I took dance class, I was in the recital.
Things got a little harded as I got older. I got frustated when everyone else in my neighborhood could ride a 2 wheeled bike and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't do it. Once I actually went once around the block but usually I would end up hitting fences or falling.
When school started and we would have PE, I did great on the pull-ups,but I would fall a lot on the track. As I got older, around 7, I started loosing the pigment on my dark tanned face and had large white spots popping up. Then I started drooling, something you dont see many 3rd graders doing, and my balance was getting worse. When I was in 4th grade, it was too hard for me to walk to the cafeteria, library or anywhere outside of the classroom, so I got my 1st wheelchair and decorated it with Chicago Bulls and Cubs bumpper stickers and also the Florida Marlins and Heat. In middle school I started loosing my hair, first it was the size of a dime, but it kept getting bigger and my mom used a hairpiece to hide it. Since alot of the kids in middle school didnt know me, and I felt so different, I became very shy and quiet, I had fewer and fewer friends. I was now in a wheelchair all of the time. I had an aide that helped me get around campus, and could help me write since that was getting harder, and took a lot of time. High school was pretty much the same, but a full day was getting very tiring, and sitting in the wheelchair was becoming harder as my muscles started getting weaker.
Maybe I still cant ride a 2 whheeler, but I have relible wheels to get me everywhere I want to go, they been with me coast to coast of the US. I love Las Vegas. They've also taklen me to Canada, anmd Paris, France.
I realize that Iam very lucky compared to some of the other kids with AT, because even though we may have the same disease, we can different degrees of the symptoms. I'm very thankful I haven't had any serious illnesses and can still get around to do things.
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