Pets and Individuals with Difabilities

There are many things that happen when you start dealing with ongoing symptoms of your Cerebral Palsy. Some of them are good, if you have a team to work with. Some of them aren't so good.

One thing that does happen is giving up pets. My hedgehog Sonadow was adopted today by a very loving couple. That was very hard for me. But I had to get him to a family that could physically keep up with him and his cage.

It's hard, when you have to lose a pet, and no one knows that better than I do. I've lost countless pets to death, or having to give them up to move. This has recently prompted me to start looking into ways to take care of Murphy when it comes time to move to Florida.

Research has given rise to what Murphy really is for me. He is an Emotional Support Animal. ESAs are animals that add stress relief, activity (such as cleaning of litter box and making sure food and water are given), and to ease lonliness. Murphy does all of these things, and one thing more. Being unable to have children, he is as close to a child as I'm going to get.

Now I have to get my doctor to write a letter, stating that Murphy is an ESA, and must be allowed to inhabit a no pet zone. Keep in mind that not all cats can be registered as such. In other words, you can't just say, "Oh, I need him with me, because he keeps me comapny". In Murphy's case, I have noticed that I tend to scratch and pick less when he's around. This one cat has done more for me than I think any psychiatrist has done.

I never thought that of him, really, until I started thinking about it. And I love him so much. He's a good cat and best friend, and there are not enough words to describe how he has helped me deal with everything in my life both past and present.

Introduction Part 2

From the time I was able to walk, Mom knew that something wasn't right. Even though I was walking, my legs were knocking together, in other words, my legs were turning inward. This caused me to be unstable in my movement.

Mom enrolled me into early preschool at Brockman Elementary School for the Disabled. That is where I began to develop my early social life, along with confidence in walking. I met teachers and Physical Therapists that would follow me for the remainder of my elementary school career.

Two of the most important people in my therapy were Ms. Susan and Ms. Barbara Wahl. The two of them were instrumental in my early muscular development. Brockman was also where I learned how to read a little bit.

Brockman provided Mom a support group, too. She became and advocate for disabled families on Fort Jackson, which didn't have a program like that. With help from Brockman, Mom founded a program called ACS with Mrs. Cheryl Jackson. She also founded the first Girl Scout troop for disabled girls. It was a lot of fun. The crafts we did were designed to help us with our various degrees of occupational therapy.

I stayed with Brockman until I was four. I was transferred to another type of school. This school was known as Easter Seals. What Mom and I didn't know was that this is where my true independence would begin.

And here, I will stop with the history. From here on, I will be sharing my current experiences. I hope you will continue to join me for this journey.