Gail Sanfilippo

Beyond the Wheelchair: Welcome to My World Gail Sanfilippo

The first three years of my existence were a nightmare for both my parents and myself. Between the nonstop crying in which went on daily because I couldn't feed on a bottle due my inability to suck because of having Cerebral Palsy and the weekly hospital visits to Children's and Massachusetts General in Boston, took a toll on the three of us. Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a brain injury either due prior or at birth. Its causes may be due to alcohol substance during pregnancy or at birth upon delivery. The second case was my destiny when a doctor did not wait for me to turn around in my mother's womb and pulled me out by forceps. Cerebral Palsy can cause retardation, the inability to work limbs properly or communication problems. The greatest fights I had in my life were getting the proper education and working toward my indecency. Between my experience of being sent away at the young age of eight and a half to this completely isolated institution called Crotched Mountain and not being able to come home every weekend, I was devastated. I thought I was being punished for a crime I didn't do. I can still see in the back of my mind the cold dormitories and windows which had no curtains. High school was another issue where I literally fought to get accepted. College was another situation where some professors told me point blankly that they didn't want me in their class. My most emotional times in life were when my Father died and relying on my Attendants to help me live independently. My whole existence came stumbling down in months. One was stealing. Others were lying. Even some didn't show up for work leaving me for dead. My trips with the Cerebral Palsy Group of Greater Boston began my intense interest for travel by the age of fourteen when a group of us went to Florida. Since then I have taken trips throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Europe. I even had a chance to go on The Lord Nelson Vessel, solely designed for handicapped travelers, and . . . . . . .