#InternationellaCpdagen #WorldCpday!

Hello everyone!

Today it´s the World Cp-day, or Internationella Cp-dagen, as we say in Sweden. The purpose with a day like this is to raise the avareness and knowledge about Cerebral palsy, what it is and how it affects those living with the condition. Since I´m one of those myself, I will tell you a little about my story.

Who am I? I´m a person who is positive most of the time, caring, helpful and talkative. In my spare-time I like being with friends, write on my blog, go to the cinema, go for walks, swim and bike. In other words, the same things as many others do, but in some areas I may have my own way of doing things: How you do things isn´t important, what´s important is that you do it: I feel free when I swim, even though I don´t do  it the the way my swim-teacher teached me! I feel free when I bike, even though I do it on a bike with three wheels! The important thing is that I move myself forward!

My dream is to find a partner one day.

How did I get my Cp?

I was born two months earlier than I was suppose to and during birth I got lack of oxygen which affected the centra in my brain that controls my moves, mostly my legs. I mostly sit in my wheelchair, but I can walk short distances indoors with my walker. I do it regulary as a part of my physical therapy. I have spasticity. Easily explained you can say that spasticity is extra tension in my body. The tension is caused because some nerves are cut off in my brain, so there is no connection between brain and spine. Spasticity makes my legs stiff.  Apart from walking I stretch my tendons and muscles regulary with help from my assistants, because otherwise the spasticity will make them too short and I won´t be able to move the way I want. Stretching is the main part of my physical therapy.

Due to my Cp I also have something called cognitive impairments (impairments in my brain functions):

* Difficulties with daily plan: Make a plan, follow it or change it. My assistants has to help me. When my day isn´t structured my brain get stressed and that takes a lot of mental energy.

* Trouble focusing and concentrating: Even though I can only focus on one thing at a time, my assistants have to help me focus by pushing the start, continue and stop button.

* Bad short-term memory:

How long has the package of milk been open in the refrigerator? Oh no! I forgot my wallet and key at home!

* Sensitive to sounds:

My brain has no filter, which means I can´t shut non-important sounds out. I´m taking it all in.

* Information:

When someone gives me information it has to be given in a way so I can receive it and understand it. The small details that hasn´t directly to do with the context, has to be left out. Otherwise my brain will focus on the details and forget what was really important. That´s because my brain  only take can take  in 50% of the given information, then it´s full. It´s also because I lose focus in conversations.

*Limited mental energy: My cognitive impairments takes a lot of mental energy from me, so I need to rest to save the energy that I have for the day. You can read more about this in my post: "My energy level- the tea-spoon-explanation" in the category that´s named " In English."

Summary: My Cp is a part of me, but I don´t want it to define me as a person! I have a life that I consider valuable!

Thanks for reading!

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