GIVING MYSELF A PURPSE

Hi everyone the work started off with a bang yesterday with NATIONAL CEREBRAL PALSY DAY, I hope everyone had a great special day. Today is another special day for myself in the Cerebral Palsy Community, as it is my 3rd anniversary of taking a big step in the community. I started what was first called WORKOUT WITH CEREBRAL PALSY (CP).

Let me first tell you about what lead me to do this. My whole life I had trouble seeing the Cerebral Palsy within myself from basically being the first child with known physical disability in the school system I grow up in. This meant my family and I had to fight for every little think I needed have when I was growing up in a quite back woods cow town in the middle of no vilely CT, since that it has got bigger and disabled friendly because my family and I and the evolution of all the “disability laws” (use “disability laws” loosely because they still need a lot of improvement as far as my of you guys and I’m concern.) To say it was a struggle would be a nice word (but when I make a million bucks and get myself a scribe I will tell my whole story lol.)  

Fast forward to my collage years and my 20’s that when I truly found myself wanted to be that “NORMAL” collage 20 something kid knowing that I was never “NORMAL” high school teen age kid so why would I be the “NORMAL collage 20 something year old but looking back on it I did it but not without getting myself in hot water and in many places that I shouldn’t have been (but we all young at one time) I’ll save all the stupid, juicy stuff I did for my book. ( let’s just say the reason why I’m always on the younger generation about being very careful with what they put how they act and what they put on the inter net because me the inter net was just coming in play when I was 18 and by the time I was 21  and in my younger 20’s those I would call my stupid days, if I could remember them lol for the most part I do)

When was in my 30’s (can say when I was in my 30’s because my 30’s will be over in one month from tomorrow, hell yea hated my 30’s) I started to realize my life wasn’t going like my 20’s and it wasn’t going be what I was hoping (I was hoping I would being working a hospital because I have a associates in human services and a certificate recreation therapy and leaving on my own) but the Cerebral Palsy had other plans for me.

At 29 after over 20 years I had to go for surgery for the Cerebral Palsy. I was coming back from that going to gym and love it and getting the point of maybe trying to work again but I was starting growing and getting away from what I was like in my help because not only was I working on my physical health, I was also working on my mental health going  to a LSW. Getting fit in every way I could getting to look at places and programs to help me on with life.

Then at 31 my Cerebral Palsy decide to grant me a lovely Cerebral Palsy jig that I wasn’t to catch myself and went like a bowl of Rice Krispy in milk “SNAP, CACKLY, POP”. YES, my friends my right fibula went snap, my right tibia went cackle and my right ankle went pop. When you have Cerebral Palsy chances are coming back from a brake like that is highly unlikely but I did just took about 2 years. I was able to get back to the gym and to get back to life with some modification but I dealt with the changing in my life just like anything I have done before

Once again my health went downhill; this time wasn’t because the Cerebral Palsy at all but it did throw the Cerebral Palsy in a tail spin. Life was very kind enough to think Cerebral Palsy was just not enough for me to deal with know it gave autoimmune disuses in my right knee (the same leg I broke) I got Psoriatic Arthritis If you don’t what Psoriatic Arthritis, is “a type of inflammatory arthritis. Symptoms include joint pain, stiffness, and swelling, which may flare and subside. Many people with the condition are affected by morning stiffness. Even mild skin psoriasis can have a significant degree of arthritis”

It took a few years and a few surgeries it realize it was Psoriasis Arthritis was attacking the inside of my knee. At this time I was just lost because it wasn’t just affecting me as a person but it was winning over what I had lived with all my life my Cerebral Palsy. This had me at a loss because the life I had started planning after I came back from a broken leg just was crush again.

One night I was up late playing the Ipad and after years of people saying I should explore the Cerebral Palsy side of myself. I looked up United Cerebral Palsy (UCP). I had been a part of UCP as child and it helped my family and I in those early years of my life, so I thought why not try it.

The UCP in my area doesn’t do much but the one in the next county dose. I emailed them and they got back to me right away. I had a program I was looking for. It was a support group for people Cerebral Palsy and other disabilities to go places within the community (the mall, movies ect) which is what I was looking to get out there to socialize.

I was having a wonderful time with new group of friends I made but I still was missing something. I made a friend within the group that became a good friend mine at that time of my life. He really shows me a side of that deep down inside I think I was looking for. He showed me that just because we have a disable it doesn’t mean you can’t have a life. One of the many he shows was there was a whole community on Facebook for the Cerebral Palsy community. As I started explored these groups and pages I was still some lost because as much they were talking about what I wanted to know there still wasn’t something I didn’t understand.

With the wonderful foundation that UCP and that friend I made gave to fine my voice in the Cerebral Palsy Community I set myself up to start my own Facebook group.

I just start with talking about working out in a gym because that what I enjoy doing was going to a gym and workout. I called it workout with Cerebral Palsy. Thinking, I just talk about working out in a gym or at PT. After a while a lot of people to join in asking can we talk and or that because I was talking working wasn’t helping my physically health but it also helping my mental health.

The more I thought about it workout with Cerebral Palsy wasn’t fitting the group anymore but the more I thought about the meaning wasn’t work not the name, plus the name was getting to long to write. I was talking to one of members, I just starting to the letters WOWCP the member what that; I just said I was too lazy to write the whole Workout with Cerebral Palsy out. Just by using those five letters it change the whole meaning for me.

The next two years my group would go through a lot of name changes but never lost the meaning and those five letters are still there. So what does Workout With Cerebral Palsy mean. Well for people with Cerebral Palsy we use 3-5 times more energy, so in most cases just putting socks is a workout. Not to mention the big things people with Cerebral Palsy have to do during the day such as just transferring from a wheelchair to a car to go out. I know myself if I have to be somewhere by 1pm I better get up at 8 or 9 just too ready go by noon.

I don’t know if I will go anywhere beyond social media with this but now I feel like I’m using my degrees plus my life experience.