Beyond The Wheelchair

About the Book

The first three years of my existence were a nightmare for both my parents and myself. Between the nonstop crying in which went on daily because I couldn’t feed on a bottle due my inability to suck because of having Cerebral Palsy and the weekly hospital visits to Children’s and Massachusetts General in Boston, took a toll on the three of us. Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a brain injury either due prior or at birth. Its causes may be due to alcohol substance during pregnancy or at birth upon delivery. The second case was my destiny when a doctor did not wait for me to turn around in my mother’s womb and pulled me out by forceps. Cerebral Palsy can cause retardation, the inability to work limbs properly or communication problems. The greatest fights I had in my life were getting the proper education and working toward my indecency. Between my experience of being sent away at the young age of eight and a half to this completely isolated institution called Crotched Mountain and not being able to come home every weekend, I was devastated. I thought I was being punished for a crime I didn’t do. I can still see in the back of my mind the cold dormitories and windows which had no curtains. High school was another issue where I literally fought to get accepted. College was another situation where some professors told me point blankly that they didn’t want me in their class. My most emotional times in life were when my Father died and relying on my Attendants to help me live independently. My whole existence came stumbling down in months. One was stealing. Others were lying. Even some didn’t show up for work leaving me for dead. My trips with the Cerebral Palsy Group of Greater Boston began my intense interest for travel by the age of fourteen when a group of us went to Florida. Since then I have taken trips throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Europe. I even had a chance to go on The Lord Nelson Vessel, solely designed for handicapped travelers, and . . . . . . .

About the Author

I’m a woman from Eastern Massachusetts who was born with a severe case of Cerebral Palsy (CP). Cerebral Palsy is mainly due to brain trauma at birth. This was my case. It left me without any use of my arms and legs, so I’m dependant on others to get up out of bed, bathing, toileting and feeding me each and waking day of my life. The one use that I do have over my body is my head in which I use a head stick to type. This one ability got me through high school and college earning me Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Sociology. Despite this, I have lead a life as fulfilled and interesting life as most would imagine. I am a living testament showing what one might achieve by keeping true to themselves and following their dreams. I have travelled throughout Europe: Germany, Switzerland, Scotland, Italy, the Caribbean and the United States since I was fourteen years old. Lastly, I moved out on my own after college at the age of thirty-two gaining my independence, but learning that independence came at a high cost. Several of my employees had stolen, lied and raped me of my dignity, so they thought, but as the years marched on, I always came up on top as the winner while each one of them walked out my door.