A Stroke of Genius
2003 Boaz Rauchwerger
Riding a bicycle, for most kids, is something easy and fun to do. What if we throw into the mix a stroke during birth, a stroke that wipes out much of the muscle control for the right side of the body?
I'd like to share the inspirational story of 10-year-old Julianne. She lives in San Diego with her parents, Robert and Holly. I'll let Robert tell her story: "Julianne's stroke, which resulted in a mild case of cerebral palsy, was probably the result of fetal distress during the birth process.
When she was first diagnosed, we were very grateful to learn that her condition would not deteriorate further. However, we had no clue as to what to expect in the future. The neurologist said she would probably learn to walk. But, beyond that, only time would tell.
The stroke wiped out the speech center in the brain, along with much of the muscle control for the right side of her body. While an adult would never recover from such a stroke, an infant's brain will adapt more readily. Since the brain has never learned some of these functions, such as speech, it ends up mapping the function onto an uninjured portion of the brain.
During her pre-school years, she had different types of therapy four days a week. The doctor said that a large determining factor in her recovery would be her ATTITUDE in working to develop new neural connections, between the ages of 3 and 5, and learning adaptive behavior after that.
With the real estate market, that I rely on for a paycheck, going through a long downward slide in the 1990s, we made the financially tough decision to have Holly quit her job as an accountant and focus full time on being, in her words, a "therapy Mom."
Some of the muscles on Julianne's right side were spastic. They were always tense. When she was a baby, the natural position for her right hand was clenched into a fist. She was 3 years old before she could gain enough muscle control to open her fist and clap her hands. It took another few years of therapy before she could use her right hand to pick up a crayon.
Gratefully, Julianne was one of those children who was born happy. She has a sharp mind and an infectious laugh. She has taken the discipline that she had to learn as a very young child, in order to gain control of her body, and has applied that to her schoolwork and to other activities.
So this story is not about a child who has a disability. It is about a child who works to overcome her challenges every day. Julianne has been taking dancing lessons for about five years now. It's an enormous struggle for her to keep up, even in a class with slightly younger girls. However, she learns her routines and performs them to the best of her ability.
She is a member of the 1,000 visit club at Children's Hospital in San Diego, where she has received an enormous amount of physical, speech, and occupational therapy that is allowing her to lead a reasonably normal life.
Imagine if no physical task has ever come easily; walking, eating, speaking, let alone learning to tie a shoelace. Holly and I have seen how a little girl, with a gigantic can-do attitude, has taken her disadvantages and learned something tremendously powerful from her constant struggles.
The other kids in the neighborhood can ride bikes, so she was going to ride a bike as well! At times it looked quite doubtful to us that it would ever happen, but Julianne never questioned it. In her mind, it was just a matter of needing to work at it. Given enough time and effort, she believed that she would succeed."
Robert relates that last Sunday was the culmination of four years of absolutely unyielding determination. Julianne rode a bicycle. It was hard to watch through dad's tearful eyes. Here was a ten-year-old who was creating a tough act for anyone to follow!
So, the next time you and I may get depressed or feel sorry for ourselves, perhaps we should think about Julianne. Life led her down a rough road. She taught herself how to navigate it on a bicycle. That's a stroke of genius!
A Daily Affirmation of Determination
I am determined to achieve my goals. I keep making a great effort every day.
Article reproduced with permission from Boaz Rauchwerger. You may reprint any of these articles in any publication or Web site so long as you credit Boaz Rauchwerger as the author and include this Web site address, www.Boazpower.com.