Success Stories
Since its June 2003 inception, CereCare has provided rehabilitation consultation to more than 1,000 CP children. More than 250 CP patients have successfully graduated from CereCare, 32 of whom have successfully entered into regular schools for a formal education.
Story No. 1
A Mother’s Thank You
Hello everyone! I am the mother of Siliang Qin, a freshman at the Shanghai University of Technology Affiliated High School.
It is an honor for me to have the chance to share my experience with all the friends here who care about CP children.
As many of you know, the typical family now only has one child, so the health and education of that one child is very important for each family. In 1995, I had the hopes and dreams like all mothers in the world and gave birth to a lovely little boy. Unfortunately, a cloud of darkness cast over my family when my child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy a year later. This shocking news shattered our dreams and brought us into utter despair. But after careful consideration, we decided we would not have a second child so we could dedicate ourselves to bearing the upcoming storms in life with Siliang. From that day on, our family has been on a long arduous journey to find medical help. Alas, the cruelty of reality was more than we could ever imagine. We visited major hospitals and private doctors.
However, not only did they fail to make a difference, but our family was also crumbling under the weight of the medical costs. We were considering giving up medical care altogether when someone introduced me to Ms. Lieu. When she found out about our circumstances, she lent us a helping hand without hesitation. This steady helping hand continued for ten years. During those ten years, my child received treatment for free at CereCare. Their work not only recovered my child’s body, but also warmed his soul.
Children with disabilities suffer from self-esteem issues to a certain degree. We as parents can try as hard as we can to protect our children, but some things are inevitable. The staff at CereCare use many methods to encourage the children every step of the way and help them discover their strengths. In particular, President Lieu uses her own experience to teach the children that as long as you work hard and persist, you will reap the benefits and win respect. As the days passed, my son grew more confident and interacted with others happily. One day, he asked to learn Go (an ancient Chinese board game similar to chess), and Ms. Lieu and I supported him immediately. After a while, he made new friends, challenged and broadened his mind, and was praised by his Go master.
Needless to say, since cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affects nervous system functions, it constrains the movements of CP children. When my son reached school-age, he faced new problems: he wrote and read very slowly. Homework that normally takes 30 minutes took him 2 – 3 hours to complete, and he could not keep up with taking notes in class, severely impacting his ability to learn. In order to enable his learning and maintain his self-esteem, the staff at CereCare increased rehab treatment for him - rain or shine, twice a week after school, for six long years. They helped him practice hand grip to increase flexibility in his wrists and fingers. By the time he was in middle school, the grueling therapy substantially improved my son’s writing speed. For his high school entrance exam, my son did not need any help; he took the same test with the same amount of time as other children, and scored very well.
Recalling the years with my son growing up, I have so many feelings. Besides the hard work that our family put in, so many people have given their love and help to my son. Today is the 7th anniversary of CereCare, and I would like to sincerely offer thanks from our family to Ms. Lieu and CereCare. The gratitude comes from not only my family but also from all the children and their families who have received and will receive treatment at CereCare, for without Ms. Lieu’s kind help many years ago, my family would not be here today. Ms. Lieu’s compassion saved a child and a family, and CereCare’s work lightens society’s burdens by continuing to save more.
Finally, I sincerely invite everyone with love and passion to care for CP children’s physical and spiritual well-being and for social welfare in general.
Parent: Mrs. Yuxia Cao
November 7th, 2010 – at CereCare’s 7th anniversary celebration
Story No. 2
Help other Kids smile like SUN…
SUN Yuhan was born in December 2009 and diagnosed with cerebral palsy just 10 months later.
In March 2011, SUN came to CereCare for therapy. SUN was unable to crawl or pull herself up. SUN couldn’t grasp objects in her hands and was unable to drink or eat by herself. She couldn’t speak and couldn’t recognize or communicate with her parents. SUN was 15 months old.
Two years on, and after intensive therapy at CereCare, the future is looking a lot brighter. SUN can raise herself to sit up and walk and climb stairs independently. SUN can eat and drink by herself and take off her own shoes. And probably most excitingly for SUN is that she can now get hold of pencils and color in. She is growing in confidence every day. But perhaps SUN’s greatest achievement is that she can now talk to those that love her most and say ‘Dad’ and ‘Sister’.
Would you, your friends or companies that you know be willing to sponsor children like SUN and literally change their lives? Millions of orphan children throughout the whole China are enduring agonising waiting times for vital therapy and equipment which would support them to have the same achievements as SUN.
Let’s help these children with special needs CREATING their own FUTURES.
Famous People with Cerebral Palsy Include:
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Abbey Nicole Curran - (born 1987) - Abbey Curran represented Iowa at the Miss USA 2008 pageant in Las Vegas, held on April 11, 2008. Curran was born with Cerebral Palsy. She and has made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, CBS The Early Show, Inside Edition, Access Hollywood, Extra, and CNN Headline News. Curran is the current chairman of her own non-profit pageant "The Miss You Can Do It Pageant" for young girls and women with special needs and challenges. Diagnosed at age 2, Abbey Curran wants other girls like her to know they can compete like anyone else.
Anne McDonald - (11 January 1961 - 22 October 2010) - An Australian author and an activist for the rights of people with communication disability. As a result of a birth injury she developed severe athetoid cerebral palsy. She was diagnosed as having severe intellectual disability and at the age of three was placed by her parents in St. Nicholas Hospital, Melbourne, a Health Commission (government) institution for people with severe disability, and lived there without education or therapy for eleven years. Anne wrote her story in Annie's Coming Out, a book she co-authored with Rosemary Crossley in 1980 (the film Annie's Coming Out based on the book won several Australian Film Institute awards and was released in the U.S. under the title Test of Love).
Bonner Paddock - Born with Cerebral Palsy, Bonner Paddock lived his early years playing sports as if he didn't have a disability at all. He was not accurately diagnosed until the age of 11, and even received news he not might make to his 20th birthday. As an adult with cerebral palsy, he became the first person with Cerebral Palsy to reach the summit of the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, Mt. Kilimanjaro, unassisted, to demonstrate that life without limits is possible. This achievement was documented in the film Beyond Limits, narrated by Michael Clarke Duncan in 2009. Bonner tackled the climb with the determination and vigor that has defined his life. OM Foundation (OMF) is the progression of Bonner Paddock's overall mission, which had little to do with individual success and everything to do with aiding others in constructing the first learning center to serve children with and without disabilities in Orange County and across the globe - http://1man1mission.org
Chris Fonseca - Comedian. Works the American comedy club circuit and has written material for such comedians as Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno and Roseanne Arnold. Chris Fonseca is the first (and only) person with a visible disability to entertain on The Late Night Show with David Letterman, something that had not been done in the show's 18 year history. Chris allows his Cerebral Palsy to be the foundation of many of his stories. He notes that this helps to break down many preconceived barriers about CP. He has released 2 CDs, 1997's Not Tonight, I Have Cerebral Palsy and 2001's Get in the Van.
Chris Nolan - (6 September 1965 - 20 February 2009) - Christopher Nolan is an Irish author. He moved to Dublin for an education.He was educated at the Central Remedial Clinic School, Mount Temple Comprehensive School and at Trinity College, Dublin. He was born with cerebral palsy, from birth complications, and writes using a special computer. He had been deprived of oxygen for two hours when he was born, but his mother believed he could understand what was going on and used to teach him at home. Eventually, they discovered a drug that allowed him to move one muscle in his neck so they attached this unicorn device to his forehead and he learned to type. Nolan has never spoken or signed a word in his life, yet his poetry has been compared to that of Joyce, Keats, and Yeats. At fifteen, his first book Dam-Burst of Dreams was accepted for publication.
Christy Brown - (June 5, 1932 - September 6, 1981) was an Irish author, painter and poet. The Academy Asard winning film My Left Foot profiled his life. Christy Brown had cerebral palsy and was incapable for years of deliberate movement or speech. Doctors considered him to be mentally disabled as well. However, his mother continued to speak to him, work with him, and try to teach him until he famously snatched a piece of chalk from his sister with his left foot to make a mark on the floor. He was about five years old and only his left foot responded to his will. His mother then taught him the alphabet and he laboriously copied each letter, holding chalk between his toes. He learned to spell out words and finally to read.
Dan Keplinger - (19 Jan 1973) Artist with cerebral palsy - Featured in the Oscar-winning documentary short, King Gimp. After attending a school for disabled children, he was mainstreamed into Parkville High School in Maryland at age 16. He is a 1998 graduate of Towson University with a major in mass communication. Dan visits schools as a guest motivational speaker. He shows that with some determination, you can achieve anything you desire. Keplinger says this about his art - "At a glance my work seems to be about my perception in society and how I overcome it. I include images of my wheelchair because it is my main mode of conveyance and a major part of my daily life, but these pieces are about much more than my disability. Obstacles and challenges are a universal part of the human condition. We all face them in everyday life, however we also have a choice as to how we deal with them. Many of us are likely to get discouraged during difficult times in our lives. In my work I hope to show everybody that they have the ability to persevere. When I start a piece, I just think of what I have to say and not who is going to view it. I know people are not going to view my work as I do, but everyone can get the overall message."
Dr. Janice Brunstrom - Pediatric neurologist specializing in Cerebral Palsy at St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University. She is the only pediatric neurologist in the U.S. who also has Cerebral Palsy, and she is one of the leading scientists in CP research. She started and leads the only comprehensive pediatric CP Center in the country. One of her causes includes correcting common misconceptions about cerebral palsy including the following: Cerebral palsy is hopeless; Cerebral palsy means low intelligence; Children with cerebral palsy do not need to stand; Strengthening their spastic muscles will make them worse; and Physicians cannot do anything about these children's vision problems.
Eric Gores - (born 1983) - Gores was educated in Holland, Michigan. He attended West Ottawa High School and graduated in 2004. The son of billionaire Alec Gores and former neighbor of actor Tom Arnold. In 2005, Gores co-starred in a film written by Arnold, The Kid & I. Eric was born with cerebral palsy. Gores wanted to be an actor since age 6, when he entertained his sisters by mimicking TV personalities. He refused to allow anything, including cerebral palsy, to prevent his dream from coming true.
Geri Jewell - (born September 13, 1956) - Comedian and Actress. Appeared on The Facts of Life television show. Geri Jewell is an actor and comedian born with cerebral palsy. She is most famous for her roles on the television program The Facts of Life. and on HBO's Deadwood. Geri brings to her presentations personal experience of having her behavior and actions misunderstood because of her cerebral palsy. Geri Jewell is said to be a pioneer for comedians with disabilities.
Hermann of Reichenau - (1013 July 18 - 1054 September 24) - also called Hermannus Contractus or Hermannus Augiensis or Herman the Cripple. 11th century scholar, composer, music theorist, mathematician, and astronomer. He composed the Marian prayer Alma Redemptoris Mater. He was beatified in 1863. He was crippled by a paralytic disease from early childhood. He was born with a cleft palate, cerebral palsy and spina bifida. As a result, he had great difficulty moving and could hardly speak.
Jerry Traylor - A motivational speaker with cerebral palsy. He is the only person to jog across America on crutches. Traylor underwent 14 corrective surgeries and spent nearly a year in the hospital when he was 6 years old. When crutches replaced the braces holding his legs at age 14, Traylor said he experienced a sense of freedom that was unbelievable. Traylor has also participated in the running of 35 marathons, climbed to the top of 14,110 foot Pike's Peak, parachuting and other adventures.
Jhamak Ghimire - (born July 1980) - A poet and writer from Nepal who has won many awards for her writing of literature. Jhamak Ghimire is Nepal's equal of Helen Keller. Born in 1980 with cerebral palsy, Ghimire's desire led her to learn to read and write. She went on to become one of the leading and well respected literary figures of Nepal. She has also become a symbol of courage to people with disabilities around the world.
John Quinn - In his debut release Someone Like Me - An Unlikely Story of Challenge and Triumph Over Cerebral Palsy, John tells the incredible story of despite being born with cerebral palsy, how he pursued his boyhood dream of a career in the United States Navy. John kept his CP a secret during his entire military career. John's powerful story of overcoming numerous life challenges has enthralled audiences around the country. A natural storyteller, John's ability to connect with any audience sets him apart - www.johnwquinn.com
Josh Blue - (born November 27, 1978) is an American comedian who was voted the Last Comic Standing on NBC's reality show Last Comic Standing during its fourth season, which aired May-August, 2006. Josh Blue has cerebral palsy and many of his jokes center on living with his disability, how he deals with it and how other people view him. He coined the term "palsy punch" during his final set of the final round of the show, when he said that the palsy punch is effective in a fight because "first of all, they don't know where the punch is coming from, and second of all, neither do I." Blue also joked that signing an autograph takes 45 minutes, and that to write down his phone number he has to find a "big ole' stack of paper." More information on 
Karen Ann Killilea - (born August 18, 1940) - is the subject of two bestselling books by her mother Marie Killilea, Karen and With Love from Karen. These books were groundbreaking in their assertion that children with cerebral palsy could be raised to lead productive lives. Karen Killilea was born three months prematurely and as a result of her prematurity, she developed cerebral palsy. After she was diagnosed, Karen's parents decided to actively raise her at home, contrary to the advice of doctors to commit her to an asylum and forget her. After visiting at least 23 doctors, they found one who taught them to do physical therapy with Karen (then a radical concept), which they did for six hours per day for over ten years. Karen learned to walk with crutches, write, and use her arms and legs. She developed into a fairly happy teen and adult who has been living independently and working for decades. As explained in Marie Killilea's book "Karen" and the sequel "With Love From Karen," the Killilea family chose to raise Karen at home instead with as normal a life as possible, and proved that children with cerebral palsy can live normal lives and need not be mentally impaired.
Michael Kutcher - Kutcher, who has cerebral palsy, is an avowed political junkie. By age three, Michael battled significant developmental delays due to his neurological issues. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy before he entered school. Despite the odds, Michael graduated from Clear Creek Amana High School, alongside his twin brother. In 2010, Michael began to follow his passion for CP advocacy supporting CP specific research and awareness for "Reaching For Stars". His signature ability to succeed is evident in his recent work with "Reaching for the Stars" raising political awareness on Capitol Hill, fund raising on a national and local level, and speaking on behalf of RFTS at various events including the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
Nicolas Hamilton - Nicolas faces a greater challenge than most in trying to break into the ultra-competitive world of motor racing because he has cerebral palsy - a condition which leads to severe problems with movement, posture and co-ordination. Nicolas Hamilton is an inspiration to others. "Nic's always been very determined," his mum Linda, step-mother to Lewis said. "We've not wrapped him in cotton wool. He's gone on and done things for himself. He'll just push and push and he'll achieve what he wants to achieve." Despite his hectic schedule, Nic recently found time to join the 
RJ Mitte - Roy Frank "RJ" Mitte III - (born August 21, 1992) - An American actor. He is best known for his role as Walter White Jr. on the AMC television series, Breaking Bad. In 2006 RJ Mitte moved to Hollywood and began training with personal talent manager Addison Witt. RJ has mild cerebral palsy. Addison states that it was RJ's diligence and attitude that has helped him overcome challenges in all areas of his life.
Ruth Sienkiewicz-Mercer (September 23, 1950 - August 8, 1998) - A quadriplegic and American disability rights activist Sienkiewicz-Mercer was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. She was a healthy baby, but was afflicted with a severe bout of encephalitis at the age of five weeks. She is best known for her autobiography I Raise My Eyes to Say Yes, co-authored with Steven B. Kaplan. At thirteen months, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy resulting from the encephalitis. Her control over her entire body, except for her face and digestive system, was severely impaired; though not completely paralyzed, she could not care for herself or communicate through speech as most people know it. Due to her inability to communicate normally, she was diagnosed as an imbecile at the age of five.
Steady Eddie - (born 7 December 1968) - Australian Comedian. Steady Eddy is the stage name of Christopher Widdows, an Australian comedian and actor with Cerebral palsy. Widdows used his disability as the basis for his comedy. Eddy started at the International Melbourne Comedy Festival where has was rewarded with a Young Australian Achievers Award and has since toured the UK, Canada and USA, released a big-selling CD and video and won two MO Awards and an ARIA for Best Comedy Recording. 
Stephen Hopkins - (March 7, 1707 - July 13, 1785) - Stephen Hopkins was born in Scituate (then a part of Providence), Rhode Island. He attended the first Continental Congress in 1774, and was a party to the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He recorded his name with a trembling right hand, which he had to guide with his left. Hopkins had cerebral palsy, and was noted to have said, as he signed the Declaration, "My hand trembles, my heart does not."
Stephen Wampler - Born with a severe form of cerebral palsy, Steve Wampler set out to climb the biggest rock face in the world; El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, not for himself but to inspire all kids with physical disabilities and to prove that anything can be accomplished. "Over the years, I've learned to not only live with my disability, but to thrive, and I want to ensure that others have the same opportunity." Further information regarding 
