|
A Promise Fulfilled
Turning stumbling
blocks into building blocks is more than just
a slogan to 24-year old Cody Owen. It's a promise
fulfilled.
Cody's stumbling
block is cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy is
an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive,
non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical
disability in human development. Cerebral palsy
is caused by damage to the motor control centers
of the developing brain and can occur during
pregnancy (about 75 percent), during childbirth
(about 5 percent) or after birth (about 15 percent)
up to about age three.
As a child Cody got around
using a combination of walkers, canes and occasionally
a wheelchair. The wheelchair was for long excursions
like going to a University of Oklahoma football
game or making the rounds at Disney World. As
a result of some surgeries, Cody only uses a
walker to get around and according to Cody;
it's just to help with his balance.
His building blocks are
a supportive family, a desire to succeed and
therapy and training from the J. D. McCarty
Center in Norman.
Cody is from Shawnee, Oklahoma.
His mother, Dawn, is a high school business
and marketing teacher. His dad, Jim, is in sales.
"They always encouraged me to be independent,"
Cody reflected. "They never looked at me,
or treated me, like I had a disability."
They were, and continue to be, a building block
for Cody.
Life offered challenges
to Cody especially during middle school. The
middle school building was three stories. "The
school had an elevator," said Cody, "but
it was broken at least three times a year. If
I had classes on the upper two floors, the teachers
would send my work down to me. I'd have to do
my work in the library or the special education
classroom. I didn't like doing my work in the
special ed classroom. I much preferred being
in my classes with my classmates."
Things in Cody's life were
pretty uneventful during his high school years.
He went to school, did his homework, did chores
around the house, played video games and hung
out with a few friends. Cody graduated from
Shawnee High School in May 2004.
Like most high school grads,
Cody started looking for work but could not
find a job in Shawnee. For six months after
graduation, and with no job prospects, Cody
sat around home doing laundry for his family
and playing video games.
"After sitting around
for six months," explained Cody, "my
mom sat me down and explained to me that I had
options. She told me that I could live at home
with them for the rest of their lives and when
they were gone I could move into a nursing home,
or I could choose to be as independent as I
could be. I chose independence." A building
block achieved.
Dawn Owens had heard about
the independent living training at the J. D.
McCarty Center for children with developmental
disabilities in Norman. Since Cody had been
a patient of the McCarty Center since he was
10-years old Dawn called Richard Mann, director
of social services and Cody's case manager at
the McCarty Center, to find out about the process
before she sat Cody down for that life altering
mother-son discussion.
Older teens who are interested
in living on their own are thoroughly evaluated
by the McCarty Center's occupational therapy
team to determine what their current skills
for independent living are and what they want
them to be. "We teach older teens how to
survive on their own. In independent living
we teach our patients to cook, clean, do laundry,
manage money, get services from the community
and everything else they need to survive on
their own," said Maria Greenfield, director
of occupational therapy. "When we evaluated
Cody his independent living skills were already
pretty good. With Cody's moderate diagnosis
we were certain he'd achieve his goals and be
able to successfully live on his own,"
she added.
Before Cody came to Norman
in February 2005 for what would be his last
inpatient admission, he had another challenge
to face…learning to drive. After all, if
he was going to be independent, he needed to
be able to get around. Learning to drive proved
"exciting" for Cody. His greatest
challenge was learning to accelerate and brake
the car using a hand control that resembles
a joystick. Steering the car was easier. Cody
uses a knob that attaches to the steering wheel
much like truckers use on their big rigs to
help steer. Another building block achieved.
Cody entered the McCarty
Center's independent living training in February
2005. He completed training in March and moved
into his own apartment in June. With the feeling
of independence growing in Cody he continued
to move forward. His next step was to obtain
some additional education that would better
prepare him for the job market and a way to
support himself. In August 2005, Cody enrolled
in the Moore/Norman Technology Center. He graduated
in May 2007, with a certification in business
technology and software applications. Another
building block achieved.
It was while Cody was enrolled
in Moore/Norman Technology that he made a decision
that would lead him to his next building block.
Cody returned to the McCarty Center in the summer
of 2006 as a volunteer. He was looking for something
to do between the spring and fall semesters.
Having been a patient, he thought he knew his
way around well enough to be of some help. He
volunteered in the health information department
managed by Patti Koeltzow.
"The thing that impressed
me about Cody from the very beginning was his
attention to detail," Koeltzow said. "He's
very meticulous and in working with medical
records that's an important trait to have."
After a year of volunteer
service, Koeltzow offered Cody a part-time job
that he readily accepted. "I would miss
him if I suddenly didn't have him," Koeltzow
explained. "He's very excited about his
work. He's always on time. He's very dependable.
He's an asset to my department." Another
building block achieved.
Cody says the thing he
likes best about his job is the people he works
with. He likes it because he knows most of the
staff; after all he pretty much grew up at the
McCarty Center. "If it wasn't for the physical
therapy I got here and the independent living
training I don't think I'd be where I am today,"
Cody said reflectively. "I'd probably be
a couch potato. Without a facility like this
to help people like me there is no telling where
we would be."
"He was always happy,"
said Greenfield. "Cody was always willing
to work on stuff. It was his attitude, his willingness
to succeed, that helped him achieve his high
level of independence and functionality. We
took his stumbling blocks and helped him turn
them into building blocks."
For Cody Owen, a
promise fulfilled.
|
|
Cody Owen could have
been a couch potato, but instead he chose
to be independent and active. Owen went
from being a patient at the J. D. McCarty
Center in Norman to being an employee. He
took his stumbling block of living with
cerebral palsy and turned it into building
blocks of education, volunteerism and a
job.
|
|
