Mariah was not born with Cerebral Palsy. When she was 3 months old she had complications which caused her to stop breathing and she lost oxygen to her brain. She spent 2 weeks in the pediatric intensive care unit on a ventilator. This oxygen loss to her brain developed into Cerebral Palsy. Mariah has never been able to sit up, crawl, or walk. She cannot feed herself or stand. However, Mariah is sharp as a tack mentally. She can talk and is learning to read – although, mathematics is really her strong point.
She was not able to get around on her own until she came to UCP, where she was trained to drive an electric wheelchair by moving her head in the direction she wants to go. Now she can play soccer and drive all around the house, store, or school. She loves the chair that UCP taught her to use. She gets into to all kinds of trouble now. She is still receiving training for her chair at UCP because it is a work in progress, learning to drive when you have never moved your body to other places before.
- Jennifer, Mariah’s Mother