Published: Wed, March 29, 2017 @ 10:55 p.m. Cody Piver, 13, does quite well in Tae Kwon do, he also has cerebral palsy but doesn't let that slow him down. BOARDMAN Cody Piver just started tae kwon do lessons in the fall, but hes already breaking ground. A viral video of Cody breaking boards has garnered 2.1 million views, and he brought two gold medals home from the Ohio State Taekwondo Associations 2017 state championship in March. These are achievements most parents would be proud of, but Codys mother, Michelle Carroll-Piver, has a special appreciation for her sons success. Its been inspirational, she said. Everything we get out of him is something great. Thats because Cody was born three months premature and suffered a Grade IV hemorrhage in his brain. This left him with epilepsy and cerebral palsy. When I was born, they told my mom I would never be able to walk [or] talk. I would have a very short life, Cody said. Look at me. 13 years old. He attends seventh-grade at Canfield Village Middle School, which is where he first encountered martial arts. Master Justin Taylor, of Junior Tae Kwon Do School in Boardman, taught an after-school … Continue reading →

Deputy mayor, Cllr Fawzia Peer, Ghazala Moosa, Mr Razak Moosa, Mrs Shereen Moosa and Belinda Naidoo, general manager of Natal Settler's Memorial Homes. Sounds of jubilation and ecstasy were felt after a philanthropic family made a generous donation to 41 children living with cerebral palsy at Natal Settlers Memorial Homes. Over 50 guestsattendedthe grand opening of a special needs playground and specialised wheelchair handover at the Umbilo homes on Saturday, March 25. The guests includedlocal business leaders andspecial guest of honour,deputy mayor,CllrFawziaPeer. The eventwashosted byphilanthropist, AbdulRazakMoosaand ShereenMoosa,on behalf of their daughter, Ghazala, who has also had to overcome many obstacles living with cerebral palsy. The guests were welcomed bynon-profit organisation,Helping Hands 786, who partnered with Moosato facilitate the project. Deputy mayor,Cllr Peer and theMoosafamily,then cut the ceremonious ribbon, officially opening the playground for the children. Seeing the joy the specially adapted flatbed swings and roundabout brought to the children, Moosacalled upon the business leaders in attendance to support institutions such as Natal Settlers. Its important to share your financial success with those less fortunatein the spirit of nation building and Ubuntu. There is so much need to help the less fortunate and disabled, so that people from all spheres of … Continue reading →

For Ottawas Jorge de Almeida, watching television can be an exercise in frustration particularly when he wants to change the channel. Almeida lives with cerebral palsy and controls both his wheelchair and his TV remote with his left foot. But it can take five minutes or more to manipulate the remote control with his toes and find his favourite shows: CSIand the evening news. So he beamed Wednesday when University of Ottawa engineers unveiled a new TV remote they designed and built for him using the schools 3D printer. Its a mountable unit, the size of a textbook, with six large buttons that Almeida can easily control with his foot. Great work, Almeida announced after testing the device. (He communicates with a chair-mounted keypad that he also controls with his left foot.) The TV remote was one of more than 100 engineering solutions on display Wednesday at the universitys second annual Design Day showcase. The event is the brainchild of uOttawa professor Hanan Anis, who holds a national research chair in engineering design. Anis said the design competition is part of the universitys drive to ensure that its engineers graduate with the ability to create and deliver useful products. Employers … Continue reading →

CHARLOTTE, N.C. If you go online to read one of Alex Jenkins reviews of Charlotte restaurants, you might notice a few things. Theres the type of restaurants he likes small, local places with mid-range prices. Theres the kind of food he prefers heavy on ribs, stuffed potatoes, cheese-steak sandwiches and cream-topped desserts. Theres the writing less precious gushing about trendy ingredients and curated cocktails, more detail on handicapped accessibility and how a waiter acted when Alex asked for his food to be cut up. Jenkins is the same as a lot of aspiring young writers. His blog, Food With the Dude, is his attempt to find a career, to turn something he loves into a life for himself. Theres one big difference: Alex, 25, is doing it with cerebral palsy. Hes doing it with limited use of his hands and one of his legs, with food allergies that limit what he can eat, with an inability to drive that means someone has to take him everywhere. Problems with his facial muscles make it hard to tell whether hes smiling or glowering. Problems with his diaphragm mean he talks softly, often running out of air before he reaches the end of … Continue reading →

11:31 Thursday 30 March 2017 A Montrose gardener has reached an impasse with Angus Councils planning department over plans to extend his property. Graham Henderson, who runs his own gardening firm, has cerebral palsy and has put in for permission to extend his home, allowing him to accommodate a hot tub in his wet room. The hut tub helps relax his muscles, which tighten as a result of his condition, but it is currently outdoors meaning he cant use it in the colder months, when it would be most beneficial. Hydrotherapy treatment was recommended by Capability Scotland, who did a full medical, but the nearest pool for treatment was in Perth. Graham explained: Capability Scotland recommended the hydro pool but they said Id need 18 visits each year. Its 50 a visit, and it would be for the rest of my life. Thats when I came up with the hot tub idea. I put the application in and the planners said if I got letters from the doctors and occupational therapy or physiotherapy they would waive the planning and building warrant, The physiotherapist and GPs gave me letters in support but planning asked for one from occupational therapy who wrote … Continue reading →