Michelle Poelking

Sometimes what might appear to be the struggle of an individual can just be everyday life that is taken with grace.

In the case of Melissa Adams, a 22-year-old senior at Berry College, her cerebral palsy is one of two conditions she has learned to deal with throughout her daily life.

Adams explained cerebral palsy is a neurological muscular disorder so it impacts joints, nerves and muscles. In her case she said her brain does not recognize the right side of her body. As a result she cannot feel sensation on her right side, the right side is much tighter and weaker and therefore her left side must accommodate for this.

When Adams was born five months premature, she was put on ventilators to keep her alive. The air was pushed through her body too rapidly and forcefully causing a massive cerebral hemorrhage causing a third of her brain to die which led to a massive stroke. The stroke is what led to her mild form of cerebral palsy.

Looking at Adams’s CAT scans now, doctors say she should be in a wheelchair with the inability to perform simple tasks, and many doctors are baffled by Adams’s case and her ability to function with a high normalcy.

“They say that I’m a huge medical miracle.” Adams said. “I never let it bring me down, I’m not really a victim to it and it doesn’t identify me. It’s just my normal,”

Despite her disability, Adams is able to do a lot of what an average person does. For instance, her morning routine does not pose any major problems despite the lower functionality of the right side of her body.

Adams said, her biggest struggles in the morning include putting on deodorant as well as doing her hair without her hair dryer stand.

When Adams was three-years-old she began dancing as a form of therapy despite the beliefs that she would not be able to do so. The use of her right hand and feet improved as well as her coordination.

Adams said, “It’s one of the only times that I feel truly free and able to express myself and I don’t feel weighted down by my cerebral palsy. That’s one of the reasons I really enjoy it.”

When Adams got to college she took a break from dancing, but with the encouragement of friends she started to get involved again.

Adams participates in ballroom club as well as ballroom class, and during her senior year, she auditioned for a spot in a contemporary group dance, and was able to perform on stage alongside a roommate, boyfriend and friends from school in Berry College’s Dance Troupe dance concert.

The concert consisted of months of preparation for four performances with high demand of physical work.

Adams explained that dancing is much harder for her because it requires a lot of flexibility and balance that she doesn’t have, but other people usually do. Adams has discovered more things she can do that she never thought she could through dance despite some restrictions.

Due to her cerebral palsy, Adams said her muscles constrict with age, because of this she receives massages professionally every three weeks to ease her tightness throughout her body.

“My roommate Mary Liz is an athletic trainer and she also gives me massages in between,” Adams said.

Adams explained that the massages are helpful in making her loose and that is one of the main things to focus on with cerebral palsy in order to open and close her hand, stretch, extend and other things that most people don’t think about on a day to day basis.

Adams is able to participate in school as a regular student. She is an economics major with a minor in history. She lives with three roommates in Centennial which contains a kitchen, individual rooms and a common area.

One of the reasons Adams lives in Centennial is due to her celiac disease diagnosis and her need to cook her own food a lot of the time.

Adams explained that the disease is a  severe intolerance to gluten. If she eats anything with gluten in it or that has touched gluten she will react poorly and could develop cancer over time.

Due to the severity of the disease, her roommates and friends must be careful to clean up after themselves when he or she has eaten or prepared something with gluten in it. The usual procedure consists of disinfecting wipes on countertops and thorough cleaning of kitchenware.

In the case of her boyfriend Radu Rodila, he must be cautious to the point of brushing his teeth after consuming gluten, otherwise putting his girlfriend at risk during something as simple as a kiss.

Adams leads a very normal social life.

“I’ve had a very supportive group of friends throughout my life.” She said. “We joke about my [celiac disease and cerebral palsy] and laugh about it… They’re so open and understanding… my life is pretty normal.”