Cape Girardeau woman lives a normal life with cerebral palsy

Tameika Morris juggles her roles in life: single mother, graduate student, member of a close-knit Hayti, Mo., family and counselor.

Morris, 33, will say, without being asked, that she has "a normal life." She knows people wonder when they see the effects of cerebral palsy on her body. The Cape Girardeau woman alternates between using a walker, a wheelchair and walking to get around, depending on how cooperative her body is on any given day.

She keeps the walker nearby, because even on her best day, she may suddenly lose her ability to walk.

Cerebral palsy is a general term for a condition that causes muscles to become rigid or get weak and floppy; it affects the ability to move while maintaining balance and posture,

One of every 278 babies is born with some form of cerebral palsy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Abdul Basit Chaudhari, a neurologist with Neurosciences Center of Southeast Missouri Hospital, said cerebral palsy occurs when the baby suffers a stroke during the pregnancy, birth or shortly after birth, causing malformations that damage the area of the brain which controls movement.

In addition to problems walking and with fine motor coordination, such as the ability to button a shirt, those with cerebral palsy can have such symptoms as excessive drooling; difficulty swallowing, sucking or speaking; tremors; in a few cases the children may have such neurological disorders as seizures or mental retardation. Premature or low-birth weight babies have an increased risk of experiencing cerebral palsy.

Physical therapy "plays a fairly prominent role because of spasticity," Chaudhari said. "Tendon release or transplants may be necessary through surgery."

He said Botox injections and muscle relaxers such as Baclofen, Flexeril and Zanaflex can also help cerebal palsy patients.

Tameika Morris of Cape Girardeau works out at Health Point Friday morning. Morris has a form of cerebral palsy that hinders her balance and uses a walker to assist in her mobility. Morris said her cerebral palsy does not affect her mental state. "I am healthy. I don't have any physical ailments. I just don't have any balance," Morris said. (ELIZABETH DODD ~ edoddsemissourian.com)

For most, cerebral palsy doesn't change over time, Chaudhari said. In a case "where the damage is modest and remedial treatment has been started early, the recovery of function can be impressive and gratifying."

Doctors think Morris's condition started while her mother was pregnant.

"She nearly died after suffering a case of diabetic acidosis [a medically critical time during which her body lost nearly all of its insulin]," Morris said. "My mother survived and everyone is fine. I don't blame my mom. It's not her fault."

Morris said doctors surmise that her right side was affected because of the way she was positioned as a fetus.

Physical therapy sessions are among her earliest memories, but "I had a normal childhood," she said. "I have a normal life."

She recalled a moment with her dad when she was about 6 and she asked him if she was handicapped.

"He was stunned. He didn't know how to answer me," she said. "A few days later we were watching the Special Olympics on TV and I turned to him and said, 'Dad, I'm not handicapped, they are.'"

She was active in sports at Hayti High School, as the girls basketball team manager, track team timekeeper and volleyball statistician.

She graduated, went onto Southeast Missouri State University, earned a bachelor's degree is psychology, got married and had a baby, Jeremiah, who turned 4 on Monday.

Today, she works as an educational counselor for Southeast's GEAR UP for College program, which encourages junior high and high school students to pursue higher education. Morris recently started an internship as part of her pursuit of a master's degree in public administration. She types using her left hand and exercises three times a week.

Cerebral palsy continues to throw a few curveballs her way. During her pregnancy, "I started falling down," she said. "I had a textbook pregnancy. I gained 12 pounds, and after he was born, I lost 27."

But the falls continued, caused partly by the shift in weight. With her mobility faltering and a young child to care for, Morris said her husband decided it was too challenging a situation.

"We divorced, but we're still friends," she said.

Morris has met the changes caused by cerebral palsy with a resilient attitude.

"You can do anything with patience," she said. "Patience and persistence."

To learn more about cerebral palsy, visit the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation at www.ucp.org.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

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