Obstacles In Tricia Downing's Autobiography, Cycle Of Hope

Seeking to learn more about the ways a person can recover led me to volunteer at a rehabilitation unit within a nursing home. I enjoyed watching the occupational therapists care for their patients in a specific, yet holistic way. Speaking frequently with a patient about hockey, despite the communication difficulty caused by his stroke, prompted his therapist to hand us hockey sticks; together we passed a bean bag back and forth prudently, engaging the side of his body affected by his stroke. His therapist took his interest and assimilated it into his therapy; this

Stories become a great influence on people as they view other people either on television or through a book as they explain their struggles or experiences. They should not view them as a negative perspective because of the media. In the article, “ Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability, and Adaptive Sport,” the author William Peace notes how the media shows disability out as “something to be miraculously and inspirationally ‘overcome’ with real consequences”(Peace 676). When taking a gander at somebody with an incapacity, people tend to believe that they are not ready to do the things that individuals with abled bodies can, which is false. While having an incapacity there are approaches to work around things. People don't have to surrender and

Some runners fear the possibility of injuries such as shin splints, twisted ankle, etc. But imagine running a 5k with these injuries- along with cerebral palsy. Renowned sports writer Rick Reilly captures the moment Hanna High junior Ben Comen, who’s body is wrecked by cerebral palsy, crosses the finish line of his cross country race in the piece ”Worth the Wait”, written in 2003. Flagged by his teammates opponents, and even the girl’s team Ben tumbles in a last ditch effort across the line to the screams of the crowd. It’s near impossible to imagine what it’s like to not control your body for such a long distance, enduring the adversity along the way, but Reilly pushes the reader to run alongside Ben throughout the story. He paints an image

Everything that happened to Jessica in the past six months had led up to that moment for her. Once she started running again, she did not want to stop. “Sherlock and I run the whole five-mile loop over Aggery Bridge every morning. When I wake up tired, I remind myself how long I’ve waited to be able to run again, and it gets me up,” (Van Draanen 282). Even with all the work that Jessica had gone through to get to where she was, she still wanted to do more. Her friends Rosa was fascinated by the thought of crossing the finish line. Since she had been in a wheelchair her entire life, she never had the chance. Jessica decided that that was going to change. Even though she had only been running for a month on her prosthetic, Jessica began training for her town’s annual 10-mile race. Jessica decided that she was going to help Rosa cross her finish line by actually pushing her across it. Jessica put in so much work to be able to achieve what seemed to be such a ridiculous goal. She ran everyday pushing around a wheelchair filled potting soil, lifted weights, and she began eating a protein filled diet to build her muscle. Jessica was so determined to do this for Rosa, even though she was disabled herself. The morning of the race was quite exciting, both for Jessica and Rosa. “‘One minute!’ the announcer calls. My heart speeds up. I feel suddenly light-headed. And then there’s the pop of the starting gun. It’s time,” (Van Draanen 323). During the race, it seemed as if Jessica was reminiscing the difficult journey she endured. She thought back on the last eight months of her life, and realized how she got through it. “One by one by one by one. That’s how I got through losing my leg. Minute by minute by minute by minute. Hour by hour by hour by hour. Day by day by day by day,” (Van Draanen 328). Even though Jessica was completely spent by the end of the race, she could not have

Jennifer Bricker never saw her disability as a limitation thanks to her adoptive family (Zagoriski, 2014). Although Jennifer was born without legs, her heart was always set on gymnastics. Her positive spirit lead to her domination in competitions and later, the Junior Olympics. Jennifer created motivation to persevere, used persistence to overcome being legless, and illuminated the world by inspiring people to pave their own road of destiny.

Travis Roy’s presentation was one for the books. His story is inspiring, motivating, and touching. After listening to him talk, I realized just how blessed I am. I have a healthy, capable body that allows me to do pretty much whatever I want. What stood out to me the most of Travis’ presentation was his positive attitude. Even though he had been paralyzed, he made the best of it. He challenged all of us in the room to have a positive attitude no matter what we were going through. Someone always has it worse. A positive attitude can go a long way, without someone even realizing it. Travis pointed out how if he had not chosen to look at the bright side of things, he would be living a very sad, unfulfilling life. Life is all about the mindset

Janine Shepherd was an Australian cross country skier who had dreams of winning a winter Olympics gold medal. While she was training on a bike with her fellow teammates. A tragic accident happened: she was hit by a speeding truck and became paralyzed from the waist down. Her life was perfect until she had gotten into that tragic accident and broken every part of her body, and she didn’t want her body anymore because it was hopeless; however, she improved and learned how to walk but also learned how to fly. “A broken body isn’t a broken person.” Janine talks about how she didn’t want her body because it was broken and there wasn’t no point, but she makes a decision to give herself a second chance even though she has to rethink everything in

With a little fear in her eyes, Briana looked afraid of the first ball she would ever catch. Briana was a student of mine that I worked with through an Adapted Physical Education program taught by UNT’s Kinesiology Majors. Briana was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after birth and was hit by a drunk driver at the age of 5. Due to her previous condition and the accident, she obtained speech impairment and partially paralyzed right arm, and poor motor control. Although she enjoyed being active, she was very limited on what she could do physically, mentally, and financially. After a few weeks into the program, she proved to me that she had potential to progress physically and cognitively, but she lacked the resources and help she needed to continue. It was the hope and excitement Briana had when she learned to throw, catch, and kick a ball that made me eager to teach her everything I could in the span of 10 weeks. Throughout my time with Briana, I realized the passion I have for bringing hope, possibility, and opportunity into one’s life. In fact, three months later I was able to use that same passion and apply it to my job as a PT Technician. Becoming a technician gave me an insight to the field of Physical Therapy and a drive to further educate and succeed academically for my patient’s success. Being able to see the connection between my education and my clinical experience has helped me further understand the treatment my patients undergo and has increased my want to give more

Well, in the present, you see a whole bunch of gymnasts, revolutionists, and billionaires being interviewed. In fact, this year, the worldwide event of the Olympics is coming up, and you see a whole bunch of pro athletes there. You might be wondering, “How does this have to anything with never giving up?” If you’ve seen interviews of people like that, you would’ve seen that they never gave up. Everyone has bad days that sometimes, they just want to quit. I saw a Gabby Douglas movie once that was based on her life story, and she wanted to give up gymnastics once. I was surprised. But today, she is still doing gymnastics. She pushed through and achieved her

Physical challenges are no excuse for sixteen year old Michelle Cross. Michelle, born with cerebral palsy, pushes through any limited balance and movement that comes along with her condition. She participates on her schools cross country and track teams. Michelle hardly complains about her condition and stands out as a determined runner who never gives up, no matter what is in her

The author tells her story in riveting truth about functioning through life ridden with dysfunctional relationships, tormented by the affects of addiction and other emotional disorders.

As the Cycle of Hope comes to an end, I would like to say that though I have blathered on for almost two weeks (to the annoyance of some) about the ride, it isn’t really about the ride!

MacLaren quickly recovered and began his journey to change disabled people’s life. He became and active athlete again by competing in triathlons (ESPY). He proved that an athlete could be disabled and still win medals. MacLaren would soon face another tragedy while he was doing the one

Throughout my college career, I have been faced with several obstacles, whether it has been my physical health concerns, or my mental health concerns. In 2012 I gave birth to a beautiful little girl, however my pregnancy was a nightmare. Upon a crash c-section, and two blood transfusions my body went it to a state of shock. I had developed Eclampsia. A life threatening disease of pregnancy that has left a lingering effect on me since. I have been constantly dealing with high blood pressure, intense headaches, and the recovery of a mini stroke. The strategies that helps me daily, is the willing to be optimistic. To always acknowledge that there is someone else out there doing worst than I am. I have committed myself to taking it easy and taking

Have you ever met someone so amazing, they inspire you to change your own life? For me that inspiration comes from my daughter. No matter how much agony Alexis goes through, she will rise every morning with eagerness and enthusiasm for the new day ahead. You will never know she might have had five seizures the night before, which left her with a splitting headache, or that she might have had only two hours of sleep due to the terrible side effects of one of her many bitter tasting seizure drugs. Instead of lying in bed waiting for someone to come pity her, Alexis gets up and tries to make every day better than the last. Seeing her ability to make the best out of her