What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral Palsy can cause people to be in a wheelchair because they can't walk. Cerebral Palsy is mostly caused by lack of oxygen to the brain at birth, but there are other effects too (ie: speech impairment, lack of motor skills and paralysis).
What is Scoliosis?
Scoliosis is very common in many people these days, but not many people know what Scoliosis is! You can get Scoliosis at anytime of your life. It mainly happens during your puberty growth spurt. But what is Scoliosis? Well the explanation is simple, Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the human spine. You can get Scoliosis by having a disability such as Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, or even by having terrible posture. However, Scoliosis is mainly cause by Cerebral Palsy & Muscular Dystrophy. Scoliosis results in A LOT of back pain.
My Story: Living with Cerebral Palsy & Scoliosis
My name is Melanie Lethbridge. I am a constant fighter of Cerebral Palsy and Scoliosis. I was diagnosed with a mild case of Cerebral Palsy at the age of 8-9 months. I was diagnosed with Scoliosis at the age of 10. Living with Cerebral Palsy & Scoliosis together can be quite challenging. I did not have a choice to take Cerebral Palsy or Scoliosis. It has stopped me from living life like a normal person. Although I can walk and talk, I missed out on lots of activities such as, skating, bike riding, snow boarding, etc. Scoliosis has limited me as well. I am not aloud on a trampoline in case I hurt my back, I can't sit on normal chairs in school anymore. I have to sit on a chair that shows the world that I have a mild disability.
When life throws you curve balls, throw the ball back!
My Scoliosis curve was about a 6 degree angle when I had it checked, which made it a mild case. My Cerebral Palsy is mild too. It only effects the left side of my body. When I walk, my left foot drags behind me sometimes and I don't have the motor skills in my left hand that everyone else has. I am sometimes slow but that's my Cerebral Palsy body working. Having a mild case of Cerebral Palsy means not knowing if you will wake up the next day paralyzed. Sometimes your legs with feel numb like jello, and you think "well, this is it. I'm done living life." However, in most mild cases you get the feeling of paralysis but it doesn't actually happen. I go to bed sometimes not knowing if I'm going to be me in the morning, and I feel terrified. Sometimes I do not even want to get out of bed because of the pain and fear. Even with Scoliosis, your back pain can go from low one day to high the next. You always have back pain no matter what position you're in. I learned to live with it. Having these disabilities didn't stop me from achieving certain goals, I wanted to be a valedictorian and I got it. I wanted to volunteer and I do it. This story was to explain how life throws curve balls, but you take the ball and throw it back. ~ Life is what you make it Lets make it rock - Miley Cyrus
