Fighting Chance blog 21

Fighting Chance sibling testimonials

Northcott is a disability recreation service which runs SibCamps, a camp for the siblings of people with disabilities so that they can bond and share experiences. In the spirit of this, this year to mark 2014′s Cerebral Palsy Awareness week we’ve compiled some of our favourite sibling stories:

I love my sister; she looks after me when my parents are away, she makes delicious deserts, she takes beautifully skilled photographs, and she’s my sister. I enjoy seeing her every Sunday for dinner.

Christopher Allerdice, Fighting Chance intern. 

When my brother Andrew and I were young we loved to entertain our family at any event. We loved to sing and make up songs; we loved it so much my aunty bought us a Hi-5 microphone and speaker.

I will never forget the time when Andrew was sitting on the couch with a guitar and he started singing to Pete Murray his favourite singer at the time he knew every word. The whole family was singing along and having fun. Then it was time for me and Andrew to sing together everyone was in a circle with the stage in the middle, our Hi-5 microphones set up with their speakers. Then we started to sing a Hi-5 song and it was so much fun I remember when Andrew and I were singing together and getting along. Although we fight every minute of the day I still love him so much and could not ask for a better brother if I tried.

Lie Sintras, Fighting Chance work experience.

One of the best times was with my brother Jay and mum, doing the City2surf with me and my wheelchair broke down half way up on Heartbreak Hill and my brother had to push my chair all the way from there.

Thank God for my brother Jay being there to help push. It was working going downhill. I was happy we finished the City2Surf.

Brianna Heaton, Fighting Chance intern.

 My youngest sister Mia always had a unique and entertaining way of expressing her understanding of my disability. Here are some of my favourite quotes starting from when she was 3:

“God is very naughty, why did he make you not walk? I’m gonna call the police and ask them to take him to jail.”

One short year down the track Mia, thinking I was “adopted” instead of born with CP came up with this gem:

- Me: “Mia, why do you think God made me ‘disabled’?”

- Mia: “God made you disabled and said: ‘Who wants this girl? She’s disabled’ and Mummy and Daddy said ‘We’ll have her.’

Obviously this is not the case but her heart was in the right place, and life is never dull with her around, she’s always keeping me on my toes. Even now at 11 years old I never know what witty remark she will come up with next.

Maria Makhoul, Fighting Chance blog writer. 

Whist I wouldn’t have it any other way, my heart goes out to those whom have a more severe form of CP than I, and who find it more difficult to rise above their condition. My hope is that Cerebral Palsy Awareness Week will help to inform people of the challenges and make it a little easier for all those whose lives are affected by CP.

Fighting Chance blog 20

Revenge is best served cold

I read an article on Engadine mum Julie Webster whose Down Syndrome daughter Josie was snubbed from her high school formal because of her disability.

Josie didn’t receive an invitation to her school formal but was more disheartened when she saw pictures from it posted up on Facebook and felt left out. According to Julie, the issue of discrimination for her daughter wasn’t as prevalent as much as it now has become.

Understandably upset, Julie Webster reported it to the principal claiming that the teachers set the whole thing up which at the time she believed to be true.

After much investigation from the whole school staffing body and from the teachers themselves (even the ones that were being blamed for and/or accused of orchestrating the whole thing) the final result of the investigation turned out to be that the P&C (parents and citizens) group were the masterminds behind this incident, which then led Julie Webster to take revenge by chronicling all her daughter’s achievements in a YouTube video.

On a more positive note, Fighting Chance intern Lia Sintras who has the spastic quadriplegia type of Cerebral Palsy (CP), which entails her walking with a walking frame, goes to Burwood Girls High School, which is a mainstream school. She uses her electric wheelchair to get around; but in time for her school formal, she then became a woman on a mission: she wanted to go to the formal using her walking frame. Not only for herself, but she wanted to show her classmates what hard work and the power of perseverance can help you achieve.

“She told me that she was in this dream once and that she could walk.” – Andrew Sintras (Lia’s twin brother).

Well, Lia went on to achieve that dream to the fullest and shone like a star in a beautiful white dress bringing her family to tears as well as receiving a standing ovation from the whole school upon arriving at her formal.

The stark contrast between Josie’s and Lia’s experience has led me to recognise how much inconsistencies there are in understanding and accepting disability in the community. As American author and actor Hill Harper said: “A life without challenges is a life standing still”, so the next time you happen to see anyone who looks different to you (disability or otherwise), then I’d suggest you greet them with a warm and friendly smile or offer to strike a conversation with them instead of constantly staring at them or being dismissive of them because you may be surprised how richer your life can and will become as a result of this encounter.

You can see Lia Sintras’ road to achieving her dream chronicled in this video on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB9lkRhWQFY as well as see Josie Webster’s video on this link and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Uh9senZlc .

Fighting Chance blog 19

Brothers In Arms

Adversity can either tear you apart or bring you closer together, in the case of the Kemp brothers Nash, 10 and Tate, 8 it brought them closer.

Nash Kemp is your average tween, but when life confronted him with a brother who has Cerebral Palsy (CP), he couldn’t be more proud and their strong brotherly bond is enviable.

Nash has openly said he would trade places with his brother if he could, but in hindsight it couldn’t have worked out in a better way. The hand that fate dealt them is in fact the one which allows them to play to their individual strengths. Nash has his compassion, and Tate his strength of will, each is a hero in the other’s eyes and their love for one another is obvious.

Nash is quite involved in Tate’s life, he reads Tate a bedtime story every night as well as helping him out when their mum is at the shops and their dad is at work; wherever Tate goes, Nash goes.

Despite his CP Tate continued to dream big, with big brother Nash by his side, he sought therapy through the Melbourne Cerebral Palsy Centre then went on to train for, and run the Melbourne marathon. The gates were shut when he finished the first time, but the second time he ended up completing it 2 hours faster. This was all thanks to Tate’s continuing training; running the streets of Melbourne while Nash rode beside him, encouraging him along the way.

When Sue and John Kemp were told that their newborn son, Tate, was shown to have brain damage on the MRI scan, they endured every parent’s worst heartache. Worse still was having to wait 2 years to find out exactly what they were dealing with.

Little did they know just how much of a hero their son would become, defying all the odds to achieve so much in just 8 short years. The marathon is just the start; Tate can also water-ski standing up, attends a public school and tops his class at maths.

Sue tries to not look too far ahead, taking life one month at a time because they don’t know what the future will bring for Tate, but for now she can’t help but sit back and admire the unbreakable bond her sons share together. Despite having the usual parental concerns, she never ceases to make sure Tate knows how much the whole family believes in him, as well as how proud they are of him, and I have to admire Sue’s bravery.

When almost 5 year-old Tate asked her the question that would break any mother’s heart: “Am I still going to have CP when I’m 5?” she replied “Yes, you’ll have it your whole life but I’ll always be here to support you, no matter what it takes.”

One thing’s for sure, no matter where life takes Tate next, Nash will be right by his side, urging him on, saying: “He’s more of a superhero than I’ll ever be.”

I would encourage you to watch this clip below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7X-_1iPPTQ