I wanted to tell you a little about my story. Most of you know that I have CP, but I've never really talked about my story and how God saved my life. So, here it is.
When I was born, I had underdeveloped lungs, and I had breathing problems. I was so sick that I had to be taken to two different hospitals. I was taken to one hospital in an ambulance, and I was taken in a helicopter to Duke. While I was in the helicopter, I died, and the doctors had to revive me.
I was a really sick baby and I couldn't breathe on my own. I was so sick that the doctors put me on ECMO. ECMO is a machine that took my blood, put oxygen into it, and gave the oxygenated blood back to me. When I was a few weeks old, I was taken off of ECMO, and I had a stroke. The stroke affected the right side of my brain. Because of that, I have CP that affects the left side of my body.
After the stroke, the doctors put me on life-support. The doctors said I had no chance of living. They said that if I did live, I would be in a wheelchair my whole life. They said I would need help with everything. They also asked if my parents wanted me to be unplugged from life-support. Both of my parents decided to keep me on life-support.
My parents prayed and prayed that I would get better. Then, one day, a doctor came to my mom and said that I was looking better than I did before. They couldn't explain why I was suddenly getting better. I was breathing one breath on my own between every few breaths from life-support. Slowly, I started breathing more and more breaths on my own. When I was well enough, I got to go home.
God saved my life. I know that without a doubt.
After I got home, I started doing therapy. I've done Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and some Speech Therapy my whole life. I learned how to roll over, crawl, walk, and talk through those therapies. I also learned how to strengthen my muscles with specific exercises.
When I was younger, I struggled emotionally when it came to my therapy. I can't tell you how many times I cried because I was frustrated with my therapy. I wished I didn't have to do it. I wished I was like everyone else who didn't have to go to therapy like I did. Now though, I'm glad I went to therapy to get my muscles stronger and my CP better.
I've always done things a little slower than most people. When I was a baby, I started walking when I was over a year old. I also do things differently. Basically, I do everything with my right hand. For example, I type on the computer one-handed. Because I can't use my left hand to type, I figured out my own way to type on the computer.
I hope and pray that God can use my story to encourage people.
