Cerebral Palsy Awareness

About Me
My name is Chakima Rankins and I am the founder and CEO of Your Destiny Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support to families that have children with cerebral palsy and to better understand the needs of the family while enriching their lives as well. I am also the mother of Destiny, a beauiful young women who has Cerebral Palsy. Our foundation will help empower parents to be the best that they can be for their children, armed with best resources that we can provide.

About Destiny

At the time of Destiny's birth, I was a young, single mother who was about to become responsible for another life. I was scared and not fully prepared at the time, but somehow, my family's love and finding the courage to fully accept the responsibilities and challenges of being a parent superseded my fears. 

Within a few days of bringing Destiny home, I began to notice small, but noticeable differences about my child, starting with some discernible movements of her tongue. This alarmed me and I immediately rushed her back to the hospital for observation and treatment. After a myriad of tests which seemed to take forever, the doctor had determined that she was suffering from a seizure disorder, and immediately recommeded Destiny to began anti-seizure medication therapy. I agreed, and the seizures immediately stopped, but the medication kept Destiny heavily sedated. It was as if her spirit dimmed during that time, and the little girl that I knew wasn't there. I knew then that this is not how I want her life to be lived.

Emotionally I was spent. I cried - a lot. I prayed to God. I asked Him, " Why me and why my child?" 

After thorough research, family advice and prayers, I decided to have Destiny's medication therapies stopped. And as a result, Destiny stopped having seizures! (Note: She hasn't had one since 1999!) But unfortunately, the damage had already been done. During the course of her initial seizures, Destiny had a stroke which would irrevocably change her life forever.

Destiny was later diagnosed with having Cerebral Palsy (CP), Which would hinder her mental and physical developments for her entire life. But like most parents of CP children it didn't define how she lived her life and who she would be. From the onset of her diagnosis, I was told that she would not walk, talk, sit up on time or even see. Today, she is a vibrant 17 year old, that has a beautiful spirt, a kind heart and soul. 

Why we need you to donate

I founded this non-profit to be a place and source of mental, spiritual and financial resources for parents of children with Cerebral Palsy. While Destiny is developing wonderfully overall, she does have several speacial needs that much be addressed through technology, surgeries, mental and physical therapies. While I have been able to address my own daughter's needs to be best of my abilities, not everyone has the resources to treat their child's needs properly, or have access to right information and support systems. 

Your donations will enable us to address five key areas :

Transportation: Children and young adults sometimes need special arrangements to get from place to place, which can cost hundreds of dollars to a family. In other instances, vehicle need to be retrofitted to accommodate wheelchairs and other assistance devices. 
Medication, Specialized Surgeries and Therapies: There are dozens of people and specialized doctors and therapists available. But many of these medical resources are costly to the average parent. High deductibles and travel specialized hospitals can take a toll on family's financial resources. 

Assistance: From wheelchairs to walkers, parents of cerebral Palsy need access to theses items many times out of pocket, or pay for high costing medical deductibles. Donations help give a level of independence to many children living with CP. 

Support Groups: One of the goal is create a major online presence where families can interact with one another to share information, support and provide guidance and assistance uisng technology. Your donations will help pay for the infrastructure of creating a site where families and their children can communicate with one another. 

Parent Time and Child Care: While being a parent, and a parent of special needs child is rewarding, it can take its toll at time. It's imperative that your resources will allow highly skilled and specialized caregivers to assist parents when they have to take care of their additional responsibilities, need a night out for themselves, or simple some time to recharge their batteries.

What is Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy ( pronounced seh-ree-brel pawl-zee) is considered a neurological disorder caused by a non-progressive brain injury or malformation that occurs while the child's brain is under development. Cerebral Palsy primarily affects body movement and muscle coordination. Though Cerebral Palsy can be defined, having CP does not define the person that has the condition. 

For more infomation, please visit : http://www.cerebralpalsy.org/about-cerebral-palsy/definition

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC- Department of Health and Human Services

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, or NINDS Institutes of Health

Disabilities and Rehabilitation- World Health Organization

American's with Disabilities Act, or ADA - U.S. Department of Justice

Birth Defects - March of Dimes

Contribute $25 and get a T- shirt, $ 50 to $100  For One item Considered  tote bag , etc.