Extraordinary Story Of An 'ordinary Teenager'
Illawarra Mercury
Friday April 18, 2008
WE watched Tiffany Le take her first steps on a walking frame. Now, nearly a decade on, the 18-year-old is facing a different set of challenges.
Tiffany, from Horsley, has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, a condition which can result from lack of oxygen to the brain before, during or after birth.Despite her struggles to walk and communicate, Tiffany is still just a teenager finding her way in life, her mother, Janice, said.The Dapto Lions Club has been there along the way, providing her with the walker, and, more recently, a laptop designed to improve her communication skills."Tiffany has had a tough time since that photo and has undergone 10 operations - one involving almost cutting off her left leg to reposition it," Mrs Le said.She described Tiffany as a terrific girl who appreciated the little things in life."Once a month she loves getting dressed to the nines to go to a disco set up for people with cerebral palsy," she said. "I laughed the other day when she got mad and told me she was going to put a towel around my mouth so I couldn't speak to her any more."She flounced off to her bedroom in her electric wheelchair and by next morning it was as if nothing had happened - it is times like this I realise she is still an ordinary teenager."Tiffany attends Essential Personnel at Balgownie, which trains people with disabilities in life skills."Tiffany loves it - she calls it her 'work' and the difference it has made to her life is amazing," her mother said."The other night she reached over and put her own cheese on her spaghetti ... (it) doesn't sound much, but the effort it involved for Tiffany made it quite an achievement."
© 2008 Illawarra Mercury