My name is Kelly I am 15 years old, I like reading, shopping, talking on the phone, chatting, meeting new people, writing, playing the clarinet, listening to music of all types, and spending time with my friends. I have cerebral palsy and this is my story............

    At about 7:30 A.M. on Sunday, August 22, 1982, 2 months before she was due to deliver me,  my mom woke up due to pain in her abdomen, and found there to be a large amount of blood on her bed. The placenta had broken open. So, she woke my father up, and they went to the hospital. I was born at 2:00 p.m. that day. I was 4 lbs. 11 oz.
    I was not breathing well, so I was placed on a ventilator to help me. I had tons of wires hooked up to me! My mom was scared to hold me, I looked so fragile.
    The local hospital could not do any more for me, so I was transferred to Mott's Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  I was closely watched there, to be sure there were no further complications. They could see that my body was not working properly, so I received physical therapy while in the hospital. My mom came to see me there everyday after work, and sometimes brought my big sister, Kim, who was then 13. After 5 weeks, I was allowed to go home.
    As a young infant, I began an early intervention program in the home. It was basically where a physical and occupational therapist comes to your home. I was involved with a home based program until I was 2.... along with a therapeutic swim program. The pool that, that was held in was about 95 degrees, so it helped kids with spastic muscles move independently. When I was 3, in the fall of 1985, I began attending a preschool program for special needs children 4x/week for 3 hrs./day. I met a lot of new friends there.  While I was there, I received OT and PT, as well as participation in a sensory motor group.
    When I was about 5, I visited a general education kindergarten class, to see if I was ready to be included in a class the next fall. Ultimately, they decided that I was, with assistance from the special education staff that served my home school district. The next fall, I started school. I was not too nervous, if I recall correctly. I was used to going to school. The only mistake I made, was that I thought everyone was like me; I thought they all could not do simple things, like jump rope, or skip, etc. Boy, was I mistaken. The kids did not really notice a difference until about grade 3.  Well, in a sense, I guess they did, because I was constantly taken out of the classroom, either for sessions with a teacher consultant, or for therapy. But, they never asked me about it.
    Then, I moved on to first grade. I started seeing the resource room teacher that year. I liked her a lot. We worked on math, reading, spelling, writing, and she also taught me to tie my shoes! :) I was so proud when I had learned to tie them! First grade was pretty cool for me!
    Then I moved on to second grade. I was still seeing the resource room teacher, and still liked her a lot. I had a very understanding teacher in second grade. She would help me even if she didn't feel like it. I will never forget her.
    All the rest of elementary school is kind of a  blur. I got made fun of a lot... and I could never figure out why. At this stage in my life, I never even knew I had a disability. I mean, my parents never really discussed it with me, and therapy and such was all a part of life which i didn't know the other people did not have to go through. Soon, I began asking my mother questions like "Why am I different"? Then, she told me I had Cerebral Palsy. That was not much help to me, because I still had no idea what Cerebral Palsy
was. So, I just left it at that.
    About a year after that, Jr. high started. 6th grade was kind of a rough year for me. Things people were saying were really hurting more now, because I was beginning to reach the age where all that matters is peer acceptance, which i clearly was not getting from my peers. 7th grade was a great year for me, it seemed the teasing had stopped somewhat. I was elated. Then, in 8th grade, I became severely depressed, and begun feeling sorry for myself because of my disability. I guess the reason is because again, I was not getting peer acceptance, and the teasing was very bad.... so I felt like I was nothing more than my disability. Then, the summer before I
began high  school, I got into counseling, which helped some. Though, I AM still very depressed. My self esteem is also very low right now, which I think is due to the combination of my age, and my disability. Slowly, and surely, I am beginning to see improvement. What I am scared about as far as my
disability is That, as I grow older, I will need walking aides, because of bone and muscle deteroioration.
    Someday I want to become an occupational therapist, so that I can work with kids with disabilities similar to my own. Well, that's it for now but my life is far from over!

Kelly's Story written and submitted by Kelly