Josh George: 24-Year Old Miracle Racer

Josh George is a 24-year old male who will be representing America in the Paralympics in T53 events, which range from 100m sprints to marathons. He, like Oscar Pistorius, is a proficient handicapped athlete who gives hope to those limited by their disabilities. When Josh was 4, he fell from a 12-story window and miraculously survived with full control of his upper body. He was determined to live a normal life on a wheelchair and became skillful in basketball and racing. As he became famous for his skills as an athlete, he flew to various countries, including Brazil and Australia, even before graduating from high school to participate in basketball events. In the 2004 Paralympic games, Josh received two bronze medals at the 2004 Paralympic games and he decided that he must continue to race. 4 years later at the Beijing Summer Olympics, Josh earned a silver and gold while setting a Paralympic record for the 100m. Then at the London Games, he won bronze in the 800m. Even in the midst of all the racing, Josh earned a degree in News Editorial Journalism in 2007 and even wrote for the New York Times. His most recent race was a wheelchair marathon in Seoul, in which he finished 7^th. He has been training incessantly and has set himself up for many races in 2013.

Cerebral Palsy Research Camp

            It has been a very long time since the previous post, mainly due to an overload of school-related work. Now that summer vacation has just started, I was able to make time to participate in some community service for the handicapped. This week, I just completed a three-week camp for research on children with various forms of cerebral palsy. During the camp, each volunteer, or interventionist, was assigned to a child and from 8:30 AM to 3 PM, the interventionist engaged the child in simple, repetitive activities to force the child to use their affected limbs more frequently through games.

One of the many activities that the
children enjoyed

            Data collected from these activities, such as the time it took for the child to complete a certain task or the number of the child was able to do something over a 30-second period, will be used for research after the camp. For example, two different methods of rehabilitation were used, CIMT and HABIT. In CIMT, the interventionist used a sling or cast to restrict the child’s good limb to force the use of the affected limb only. But in HABIT, bi-manual activities were encouraged in order to familiarize the child with using both hands comfortably. Comparing the effects of the two rehabilitation methods is but one of the goals of the camp.

            Although the primary purpose of this camp was research and data collection, it also was a form of community service since the affected children had fun playing various game with the volunteers for three weeks. The main lesson I learned was that these handicapped children, although they had trouble participating in all the games, still could find joy in attempting to play such games. In other words, they are just as capable as unaffected people to play games and have fun. I sincerely hope that unaffected people are willing to sacrifice some time to invite the handicapped to join in and have a great time together.

Image: https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/561068_430007027022073_1742093056_n.jpg

Gov. Cuomo's Alarming $120 Million Cut

Earlier this month, Democratic Governor Cuomo of New York, announced a budget plan in which he would cut $120 million in non-profit organizations that help the handicapped individuals. This plan has caused commotion in the State Assembly and State Senate as many politicians still firmly believe that money that helps disabilities should not be cut. For example, Sheldon Silver, the State Assembly speaker, said, “We all recognize that its important to protect our most vulnerable citizens … and would result in severe hardship and diminished services for individuals with hardships.” Lawmakers worry that the spending cut will have negative impact on the disabled of New York while Governor Cuomo argues that “it’s not always true that more money is better results.” Although I feel uneasy about the massive financing cut, I hope that the state government finds a way to ensure that the disabled are still adequately cared for.