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Cerebral Palsy - Back to News Menu
Prom brings break in routine at United Cerebral Palsy
by Jessica Geesaman
Special to The Gazette
Anne MacDonald, United Cerebral Palsy of Central Maryland Frederick Day Care Center supervisor, and client Tom Barrett share a laugh during the organization's special prom on Friday.
June 16, 2005 - In pretty dresses of sparkle and tulle, and crisp dress shirts and pants, they celebrated life.
More than 50 participants and their family members and friends, along with staff of United Cerebral Palsy of Central Maryland's Frederick Day Center, attended the organization's third annual prom Friday afternoon.
"We provide a place for people that have disabilities to come and interact socially, to have a place to come and get support. It provides a place that doesn't exist anywhere else in the community," said Nancy Tabor, director of public relations, marketing and development.
The goal of the organization is "to bring [participants] to the highest level that they can be," Sharon Akers, chief development officer, said.
On Friday, a disc jockey spun loud, foot-tapping tunes. Balloons clustered against the ceiling and were tethered to wrists of eager partygoers. Snacks, including two large cakes -- one chocolate, one vanilla -- covered the tables.
"It's makin' me jam and move," said Melinda Creedon from the center of the dance floor.
Creedon, who was also celebrating her 48th birthday, shared the excitement that seemed to radiate from partygoers. Everywhere she turned, the room was filled with dancing hips and gabbing lips. All year, participants awaited the special event, Akers said.
"The prom is something the clients look forward to. They get a chance to do something they usually don't get to do," Akers said.
Cerebral palsy is a brain disorder usually caused at or before birth and marked by muscle impairment.
Individual abilities can vary greatly.
Some participants are severely disabled; others are physically impaired but are sharp as a tack, said Annamarie Poole, vice president of operations for the organization's western region.
Poole said the prom offered a respite.
"It's a really nice break in the routine. People get all gussied up," she said.
On a normal day, the decorated room would play host to the organization's Frederick Day Center, a program that provides daily care and support to develop participants' abilities. Other services include residential, children's, employment, transportation and respite care, as well as in-home support programs and a technology center. The center serves not only people with cerebral palsy, but also people with other disabilities.
One of the program's participants, Pete Moore, sported a captain's hat and anchor tattoo at the prom. He likes to write poetry, including funny quips about Santa and moving messages about Memorial Day.
"Nobody thought I could do anything cause of my physical limitations," he said. "I fooled everybody in the end."
Doris Ball, an 85-year-old client who has been to every prom, is still loving life. "I'm doing real good," Ball said.
The festivities came to an end with the crowning of the king and queen.
Melinda Creedon and Harold Lambert were announced the winners amid cheers and clapping.
When Creedon was asked whether she enjoyed coming to the day center, her reply was a resounding, "Yeah!"
"There would be a real void if it didn't exist," Tabor said.
Life is a song for Tejaswani
Incapacitated for 15 years, this cerebral palsy patient now thrives on music
Shveta Vashist
Chandigarh, June 15: She can’t count till hundred, could barely move till the age of 15 and has lived in an incapacitated state for 13 years, but ask Tejaswani Sharma to sing and she can break out into as many as 400 songs.
The victim of a series of botched surgeries, 18-year-old Tejaswani has been resigned to the fate of a cerebral palsy patient.
Born with an intestinal blockage, she underwent her first surgery as an infant. But the operation left her with unhealed internal stitches, because of which she had to undergo another surgery. Fate dealt another cruel blow when the second surgery damaged her nervous system, resulting in cerebral palsy.
After four years of continuous visits to the PGI, the doctors gave up on her, but life had other plans for Tejaswani.
At the age of 15, her parents discovered that Tejaswani was receptive to music. “One day, our cassette player got stuck and before I could set it right, I heard Tejaswani hum,” recalls her mother Harsh Sharma.
The family was stunned by the miracle. The girl who had not uttered a sound since birth was actually humming. They also discovered that Tejaswani had regained movement of her legs and could even speak. Then began the transformation period during which Tejaswani’s parents taught her to speak and sing.
She was enrolled for classical music training at the Gandharv Music Academy in Sector 10 and after that there was no looking back for Tejaswani. She went on to participate in several music contests and bagged prizes as well. Her latest accomplishment is her stupendous performance at the Saregama competition held in April this year, where she missed making it to the finals by a whisker. “They played on the wrong scale,” she protests. Her favourite singer is Lata Mangeshkar and she loves patriotic songs.
Her siblings, Sumit and Renuka, simply dote on her. However, Tejaswani’s favourite is her friend Neha.
She also loves her school, Sadhna Society, an institution for vocational studies started by a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) in 1995 by parents of special children. Harsh recalls how a few parents, after sending their children to Bhavan Vidyalaya, thought of coming up with a joint effort to provide their children with a more comfortable environment. “Studying at Bhavan Vidyalaya, she could not cope up with the academic pressure,” says Harsh.
Academics, however, is not an issue with Tejaswani. She is content singing her favourite songs. “I want to sing in the movies,” she says. Here’s hoping her dream comes true.
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