A rare spine surgery is helping children with cerebral palsy walk for the first time. Stephanie Whitfield, KHOU 6:17 PM. CDT April 14, 2017 A rare spine surgery is helping children with cerebral palsy walk for the first time. (Photo: KHOU) HOUSTON - A rare spine surgery is helping children with cerebral palsy walk for the first time. The procedure is called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, or SDR. Doctors say it is only available one place in Texas: Childrens Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. A family in northwest Houston learned their child was a candidate for the surgery last year. Chandler Rivon, 4, was born premature with hydrocephalus, or fluid on the brain. We started noticing when he was able to stand at maybe 15 months and walk, his legs would scissor, said Lashea Rivon, his mother. I felt like he might never walk. Chandler had the procedure last February. Within a few months, he was able to walk with the assistance of a walker. Surgeons like to think that theyre tough. It really breaks you down when you see a 3- or 4-year-old running around that initially came to your office stuck in a walker or stuck in a wheelchair, … Continue reading →

CHRISTINE WALSH Last updated10:51, April 13 2017 Supplied Rose Watemburg taking timeout to enjoy the company of her grandson Korbyn Green, 5. New Plymouth's Rose Watemburg would move mountainsfor her five-year-old grandson Korbyn Green, who lives with cerebral palsy. Despite having zero trampingexperience, the grandmother of three is set for a mammoth trekto Everest Base Camp on March 23, 2018,to raise awareness and funds to help empower all young people living with the condition. CP affect'smuscle co-ordination andmovement, typically caused by damage to the brain before or at birth. Supplied Rose Watemburg taking a leisurely stroll her grandson Korbyn Green, 5. "I can love him and hug him and do all those things, but Ican'ttake his cerebral palsy away from him to make him better.By doing things like thisthat's my way of helping him. "By doing this I'm contributing to not just him, but helping everyone that live with it,"saidWatemburg. READ MORE: *Cerebral palsy operation 'should be available in New Zealand', says mum * Three-year-old New Plymouth girl with cerebral palsy to travel to US for surgery *Despite suffering from cerebral palsy young Payton will walk to raise money for children The NZ CP Society partnered with Inspired Travelsto organise … Continue reading →

Born with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects body movement and muscle coordination, Benetti wasn't deterred from pursuing a path to sports broadcasting, though even he did not envision how high he might rise. "I never had any aspirations of being a TV person," Benetti told David Axelrod on "The Axe Files," a podcast from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN. "I was self-conscious about it." Benetti is a graduate of Syracuse University, whose public communications program has produced titans of the sportscasting industry such as Bob Costas and Mike Tirico. Benetti kept to radio during college, but support from his producers at ESPN pushed him toward television. "It was probably a couple years into it that I felt really OK on camera," Jason said. "And then at some point, I said, 'You know what? It's gonna look how it's gonna look. And whatever flows from that is gonna flow from that.'" What has flowed from Benetti's broadcasting career -- in addition to popular and critical acclaim -- is a public platform to articulate the struggles that people with disabilities face and demonstrate what is possible when looking past someone's perceived deficiencies. "My concern is that … Continue reading →