Cerebral Palsy Association of BC

October 6 is World CP Day

Wednesday, October 6, 2021 By Susanne Raab

October 6 is World Cerebral Palsy Day. This day represents a movement by people with cerebral palsy (CP), their families, and organizations that support them to create awareness and action around the disorder.

Cerebral palsy is a movement disorder which affects more than 17 million people across the world and about 10,000 people here in British Columbia. It is the most common physical disability in childhood. While cerebral palsy varies in its severity, it is a permanent disorder with no known cure.

On October 6, many BC landmarks, including Canada Place and Science World, will light up green to promote CP awareness. As common as CP is, many people with CP and their families lack access to basic information and support for condition. World CP Day is an opportunity to celebrate, raise awareness and take action to ensure that people with CP have the same rights, access and opportunity as anyone else in their communities.

As stated by Peter Brown of the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC (CPABC):

“Cerebral Palsy [CP] Day is an excellent opportunity for those of us with CP to educate the rest of the world, particularly our own communities, with respect to this affliction and the tremendous potential and ability that we all have, despite our condition. As with any such condition, there is tremendous uncertainty, almost mystery, for those who do not have, or do not know someone with, CP, as to what CP is and is not and the potential for great contributions to our world by those of us who do have CP… For me, it is a day during which those of [us] with CP should take the opportunity to provide the knowledge, information and expertise that we have gathered throughout our lives… to educate and inform our communities on… how far we have come and what challenges remain and which need to change, in order to benefit not only persons with CP but society as a whole.”

Visit the CPABC website to see how you can get involved with World CP Day on October 6.

At Pacific Medical Law, we are committed to bringing awareness to and supporting individuals with cerebral palsy. If you believe that your child’s cerebral palsy was caused by medical negligence, call us for a free consultation – we can provide information about supports and resources in your community as well as legal advice regarding your child’s rights for financial compensation.

Sailing to New Heights

Friday, September 18, 2020 By Admin

This November, Natasha Lambert will be embarking on her biggest challenge yet – sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.

Natasha’s love of sailing was immediate. It started on a lake in England when she was nine years old and only grew stronger as she got involved with a local sailing academy back home on the Isle of Wight. However, because Natasha was born with athetoid cerebral palsy and is unable to use her hands, she could not sail the boats herself. Nevertheless, she was determined to find a way to sail independently.

In 2009, Natasha’s parents gave her a life-changing gift – a converted model yacht which allowed her full control using her mouth and a ‘sip and puff’ system – assistive technology that uses air pressure to send signals to a device through the user by inhaling (sipping) or exhaling (puffing) through a straw in the user’s mouth. The sip and puff system works by using one short sip of breath to move starboard (right), quick puffs to turn port (left) and a click of the tongue to control the sails. This system is described as “life-changing” by her mother.

This got Natasha thinking – if she was able to control a model boat, why not a real one?

The following year, Natasha’s family bought a real sailboat and her father Gary spent the next 6 months installing and testing a sip and puff system that he had designed himself in order for Natasha to have full control of the yacht. Their hope is to one day have this same system commercially manufactured to enable others with disabilities to sail.

Since then, Natasha has led many sailing trips which have raised money for charity, including for the charity she helped create, The MissIsle School. This charity provides affordable sailing tuition to young people with physical disabilities who would benefit from the sip and puff method of sailing. She was even awarded the British Empire Medal in 2015 as recognition of her fundraising achievements.

This past July, now 23-year-old Natasha set sail from Cowes, Isle of Wight, to Gibraltar to begin the first leg of her transatlantic voyage on her newly adapted boat, Blown Away, in the hopes of raising £30,000 (approximately $50,000 Canadian) for charity. Although COVID-19 restrictions initially presented as a challenge, the rest of her incredible journey is still scheduled to begin in November.

Natasha’s journey, like those we have celebrated in our previous blogs, highlights the amazing potential of children living with disabilities when provided with sufficient support and adaptive equipment to reach their true potential. At Pacific Medical Law, it is our mission to help children living with cerebral palsy achieve their full potential by providing them with fair compensation for their disability when it was caused or contributed to through medical negligence. We are here to help. Call us for a free consultation – we can provide information about supports and resources in your community as well as legal advice regarding your child’s rights for financial compensation.

Maysoon Zayid doesn’t believe in “can’t”

Thursday, August 13, 2020 By Admin

*Image by Karsten Moran for The New York Times*

Maysoon Zayid is a comedian, actress, writer, tap dancer, and disability advocate. She also happens to have cerebral palsy.

When Maysoon suffered a brain injury during birth, her parents were told that there were things she would never do, including walk. But they didn’t believe in “can’t”. Maysoon’s father taught her to walk at age five, and she’s not only been walking, but performing, ever since.

Her parents could not afford to send her to physical therapy so instead, she went to performance classes, and after a happy childhood in New Jersey, she went on to Arizona State University on an academic scholarship, majoring in theatre. However, after a discouraging experience in an acting class where she lost the role of a woman with cerebral palsy in favour of a nondisabled classmate, she began to notice the under-representation of people with visible disabilities in Hollywood. And if they were represented, they were largely portrayed by non-visibly disabled actors. People with disabilities make up 20% of the American population, but only 2% of those seen on American television; 95% of which are played by non-disabled actors.

Shifting gears to comedy, an industry she considers more accepting, Maysoon excelled. She is the first comedian to perform in Palestine and Jordan and the co-founder of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival. She now travels all over the world performing stand-up comedy. What Maysoon calls her “big break” came in 2010 when she was asked to appear on the political news television program, Countdown with Keith Olberman. An exciting career milestone turned into a shocking lessen in internet trolls when she was confronted by hateful comments left online underneath the clip of her on the show. Maysoon says she never experienced bullying about her disability until entering the public eye on television. The experience inspired her to advocate for people with disabilities and champion better representation in entertainment.

Not only did she go on to become a regular contributor on Countdown with Keith Olberman, but her many successes since include a TedTalk with almost 11 million views and the founding of a charity called Maysoon’s Kids, which provided resources, programs and scholarships to orphaned and disabled children in Palestine.

To those who come to her for advice, she tells them this: “Don’t let your physical body or the treatment of others define you. Only you get to define you. Create the person you want to be and be that person.”

At Pacific Medical Law, we are committed to helping children living with cerebral palsy reach their full potential. We are here to help. Call us for a free consultation – we can provide information about community resources and supports as well as legal advice regarding your child’s rights for financial compensation.

Adaptive Fitness Classes Move Online

Friday, April 24, 2020 By Andrea Donaldson

Many fitness facilities that offer training programs for people with disabilities have been forced to close because of the pandemic. This, combined with the fact that the support workers of people with disabilities may no longer be able to provide respite care due to the restrictions around the virus, has increased isolation issues for an already vulnerable group. Some adaptive fitness programs, however, are taking their classes online to try to alleviate isolation for people with disabilities during the pandemic.

The Active Souls Project in Kitchener, Ontario, is the largest adaptive training facility in the province. It was forced to close its doors in March due to the pandemic, but owner, founder and coach, Sascha King, has been working around the clock to keep her members moving and connected since then. She has been doing no-contact drop offs of gym equipment such as exercise mats, weights, and skipping ropes at no charge so members can still exercise at home. She also offers virtual training sessions to her members, which offer much needed interaction and socialization.

“They’re so used to seeing us every day or every week, their routines are so set in stone that their worlds are turned upside down right now,” King said of her members. “We’ve had to constantly reassure our kids and our adults with exceptional needs and adaptive needs that we haven’t left them.”

Similar virtual training is being offered here in British Columbia. The Cerebral Palsy Association of BC is now offering virtual adapted yoga, and dance without limits, with classes being held through Zoom.

Move Adapted Fitness in Victoria is offering customized exercise programs, video conferencing, and support from athletic therapists and kinesiologists.

Many other facilities, such as the YMCA, have created workout videos that can be followed at home, and many gyms and training facilities are loaning equipment out to members.

It may be worth giving your local facility a call to see what is being offered that can help you maintain your exercise and rehabilitation routine. While many programs are no longer able to proceed in person, many facilities are finding creative solutions to keep people fit, healthy and connected during this time of social distancing.

Janna Epp Bursary

Monday, May 6, 2019 By Susanne Raab

A $5,000 bursary has been established in honour of Janna Epp – a beautiful, determined young girl with cerebral palsy who faced challenges that few of us could imagine. Sadly, on October 11, 2012 Janna passed away.

In memory of Janna, Pacific Medical Law will donate $5,000 to a child living with cerebral palsy every year, to assist with that child’s care, therapy or recreation. The recipient of the award will be selected by Janna’s mother. This year the bursary applications are due June 28, 2019.

This is the 6th year this bursary will be awarded to a family with a child living with cerebral palsy, and our family of recipients keeps growing. As in the past, we have kept the bursary application as simple as possible, without any financial questions, and without any stipulations about what the bursary can be used for – we believe families know best what their child needs and we trust them.

The notice and application form can be found here.

Please forward this to any family who you think could benefit from some financial support. Of course, if you or any families have any questions, or need any more information, please don’t hesitate to call. If you would like to receive paper copies of the notice and application form, please let us know and we would be happy to put a few in the mail.