Issues: Cerebral Palsy
A friend of mine just recently told me she might be diagnosed with this, so I did a quick search and found some causes...
Causes of Cerebral Palsy, from about cp
Reccomended Resources
NATION
Charities
United Cerebral Palsy
NIH Neurological Institute
Military
Soldier Helps Iraqi Boy, seen on Thursday, Nov 24th on WCCO-TV
"Capt. Scott Southworth served in Iraq from June 2003 through July 2004. He led the 32nd Military Police unit of the Wisconsin National Guard."
Related Links:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnlyinAmerica/story?id=609346&page=1
ABC News: U.S. Soldier Adopts Disabled Iraqi Boy (ABC News March 2006)
"March 24, 2005 — In 2003, while volunteering at an orphanage for disabled children in Baghdad, National Guard Capt. Scott Southworth met Ala'a, a young Iraqi boy who could not walk because of cerebral palsy.
Now Ala'a, nearly 10, lives with Southworth in Wisconsin, and a doctor recently gave the pair great news: Ala'a soon may be able to walk.
'Back to Reality'
On his tour of duty in Iraq, Southworth, now 32, was helping to train Iraqi police, a difficult job in a war zone and the triple-digit Baghdad heat.
"At the end of those days, we wanted to do something that would bring us back to reality," Southworth told ABC News' Charles Gibson on "Good Morning America." "It was Sept. 6, 2003, that we first went into the orphanage."
Ala'a, who learned English at the orphanage after being abandoned as a 4-year-old, dragged himself across the floor to greet the American.
The two soon became inseparable. Southworth loved spending time with Ala'a and watching him discover new things. For Ala'a, it was the first time someone made him feel special.
After a few months, affection, comfort and a bond began to grow and Ala'a started to call Southworth "baba," which means "daddy" in Arabic.
'Spiritual Decision'
When Southworth learned that Ala'a soon would be transferred to a government hospital for the disabled where he would not receive adequate care, he made a life-altering decision to become Ala'a's legal foster father and bring him back to America.
"For me it was a spiritual decision," Southworth said.
Southworth, a Christian, said he could not justify leaving Ala'a behind. He imagined himself one day trying to get into heaven, and trying to explain why he left behind the young Christian Iraqi boy with cerebral palsy.
"Every excuse I came up with was just that: It was an excuse," Southworth said.
But the adoption process would not be easy, and Southworth's company was heading home."
For police unit, danger waits at every turn
Trouble could lie in the cries of a child, or in a box littering the roadside
By MEG JONES
mjones@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 26, 2003
"
Baghdad, Iraq - As shoppers plucked tangerines and bananas from tables in Baghdad's largest outdoor market Friday, a convoy of three Humvees wound through the streets....
Then he pointed ahead in the street, and Capt. Scott Southworth saw a large crowd of Iraqis. Something was not right. The man was apparently trying to warn the soldiers that someone had a gun.
Now others joined in, waving and pointing frantically at the crowd that pressed in to watch a confrontation - maybe someone was beating a suspected thief or perhaps it was a fight. Sensing danger, Southworth kept the convoy moving.
"They'll lure you in with wounded women or children so you'll stop and help, and then the crowd will turn on you and it'll become a fatal funnel," said Southworth, commander of the Wisconsin National Guard 32nd Military Police Company.
Testimonies
Woman Healed of Cerebral Palsy Through Vision
By Rick Settoon
The 700 Club
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