Cerebral Palsy

[b_a_d_example]

wow.. where to start. 1956 i was a breach baby . they didnt know what they know now. so they used forceps on me.i came out with blisters on my head.but those went away. my parents never noticed anything really wrong with me till i started crawling.i'd favor my right arm and leg.they took me in and i was diagnosed having cerebral palsy.
doc told my parents he'd give em a penny a lbs for me as is. lol ..then told them.. i'd only be as handicapped as they made me.BIG MISTAKE..my parents pretty much let me do as i wished. of course i didnt understand it at that age.and dont get me wrong.. there were times they said. billy, i dont think you can do that..well that was the worst thing to tell me. cause i was always like.. oh yeah? watch me.i usually couldnt do it..the first time..or the second. or the twentieth.. but i never stopped trying till by God i did it. of course i never understood that at that age either that it was by GOD..then age 5 came. i started kindergarden in regular school.being physically different wasnt enough.i had to go all out and started having seizures .dr.'s put me on dilantin.. still had them..was better but not controlled.. went all threw school trying different meds. different doses.. things go ok for a few weeks.. months.. then another seizure was most embarassing on the play ground. had a great principal though.i'd ask him to get me out of there while i could still speak,and he would carry me to the nurses station.kids started calling me crazy legs.at first i hated it.it seemed every week i was getting into a fight.i was the type of kid that couldnt walk away. when someone gave a smart remark to anyone i had to have the comeback.
now i see it as i was just standing up for the people that couldnt or wouldnt stand up for themselves.i never really had friends. or so i thought they were friends till fifth grade.at 10 though you dont understand what true friends mean.and i was happy to call anyone a friend.but with friendship comes responsibility.not the kind like chores,but the kind where you have to decide do i do the things this friend wants or whats right?least to say. i never always did the right thing.but i was blessed enough i wasnt caught doing the wrong ones.its easy getting caught up in bad things. you like the attention i think.you're use to being made fun of and then all of a sudden your the man.lol i laugh cause the thought of the man at the age 10 - 35 changes a lot.the funny part is now though that i fought in high school trying to be like everyone else. and after high school i fought to be different. i seen what other were really like and i didnt want to be them.after years of seizures.as i grew and my body became stronger and so did my seizures so dr's tried different meds and doses. i was at a dr's one day i think i was about 35 and the dr. asked. why do you take the dilatin 4 times a day?you can take it all at once. like i'd know that? DOH.my life changed that day.i'm not positive but i think if i had been told that at the begining i might not be who i am today.my seizure activity dropped dramaticly.i'm thinking that taking it 4 times a day i'm sure i missed doses here and there.thus leading to my level being low and causing seizures.i went from taking two types of meds to only taking dilatin and from 400 mils to 300 mils.so now i take less meds and less seizures. its been over a years now since my last one.my parents were told back in the 50's that kids like me had life expectancy of about 30. i am now 51 i have a beautiful wife and 7 healthy children.5 girls 2 boys ..
well they are adults now but you know they will always be my children.we own our own business.and that blessed i mentioned earlier. i never really knew how blessed till i stopped and looked at life.we are told always look forward never back . no regrets. but we dont look back now and then. then we cant see how blessed we are.my first job i was 12. i got a paper route.all my friends parents were getting them motorcycles so naturally i wanted.my parents couldnt buy me one but said if i could save i could get one.they thought they were safe saying that. well guess what. WRONG. lol .. i did it and it was awesome.i did the sports things in school.i lettered in football, basketball,track,but the jock thing wasnt really my thing.so i never persued it.the whole peer thing i never really got either.one week i'd hand with the preppies,then the stoners, then the geeks,i never really fit into any of them,but yet i fit into all of them.which was a plus for me because after graduation everything changes.everyones pretty much even
at 17 i got my first real job.i got up at 5 am delivered papers grabbed a nap got up went to school after school i pumped gas for 9 hrs.got off at 1 am and went drinking with my buddies.the as any teenage boy with a job came money.i had cars bikes a boat. i learned to waters ski. want to take about an experience.lol but thats another story in itself.
wow rambling on about me i guess i got off the track.( short version)
anyone can get cerebral palsy at anytime in their life. i was blessed to be born with it.
another thing dr's wont tell you.. if your taking dilatin you better take a calsium vitamin. dont wait till your 40 and your teeth are falling out and a dentist tells you.