(C) El Paso Matters.org This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Cerebral palsy doesn’t stop El Paso senior with ‘can-do’ spirit [1] ['Daniel Perez', 'More Daniel Perez', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width'] Date: 2024-06-09 Doctors told Heather and Alfredo Rodriguez that their newborn daughter, Monica, would probably not live through the night. It was approximately 2 p.m. Saturday, May 13, 2006, when Monica entered the world at 7 pounds, 7 ounces – a good weight for a full-term baby. But she did not cry as expected of newborns as a sign of healthy breathing. Her Apgar scores, the health evaluations of babies immediately after birth, were one, two and two – far lower than the average range of seven to nine for healthy newborns. “Basically, she was not alive,” Heather said. If she survived, physicians expected her to exist in a vegetative state kept alive with medication and a feeding tube. She would be her parents’ greatest hardship, doctors said. Monica has proven them wrong. Monica Rodriguez said her personal aspiration is to be a good human being: kind, compassionate and understanding. (Courtesy Rodriguez family) Now 18, Monica, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, will achieve a major milestone Monday as one of 37 graduates of the Young Women’s STEAM Research & Preparatory Academy. She has enrolled at El Paso Community College as a multidisciplinary studies major and wants to focus on business and hospitality courses. Her goal is to launch a bakery food truck. “I like the vibe of being a senior and the idea of starting a new chapter in my life,” Monica told El Paso Matters through her Tobii Dynavox speech generating device. “I’m happy, but nervous.” Cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects the development of people’s speech and mobility, has made her life challenging but fulfilling. Related: Turn the tassel! El Paso college, high school graduations Heather called Monica, the second of five daughters, one of the happiest, goofiest, most loving, loyal and determined people she knows. “I’m super proud of her,” said Heather, a language arts teacher and administrator at a private school. Dad Alfredo is a mathematics professor at EPCC. A tough beginning During a conversation in the living room of their Northeast home, the Rodriguez’s recalled Monica’s difficult start. Monica was having seizures, given oxygen and medication, and taken to the neonatal intensive care unit where she stayed for three weeks. She was the biggest baby there, but hooked up to numerous tubes to include a feeding tube in her nose. The snuggly and cuddly baby began to show signs of a fighter as she responded to different therapies. “She was up for anything,” Heather said. “Even if she was in pain, she always seemed to be cheerful.” Monica Rodriguez, 18, and her parents Alfredo and Heather Rodriguez search for files in her speech-generating device at their Northeast El Paso home. (Daniel Perez / El Paso Matters) Monica received speech, physical and occupational therapies as a child to support and enhance her abilities. She began to demonstrate cognitive abilities after she was weaned off the seizure medication, but the family was not sure how she would develop physically. Things began to stabilize after she started school. Through her first years, Monica was nonverbal but communicative in her own way. Family would read her stories and she responded to them. She especially liked the “Little Critter” series of books that address major issues children face growing up through a porcupine-like character who has a special bond with his parents. Monica Rodriguez, 18, communicates through a Tobii Dynavox speech generating device. She’s graduating from the Women’s STEAM Research & Preparatory Academy Monday, June 10, 2024. (Daniel Perez / El Paso Matters) With the help of her fourth-grade teacher who started a GoFundMe account, Monica’s family was able to purchase Tobii. The machine’s sensors are calibrated to her eyes as she looks at the keyboard to spell out words or use pre-programed sentences such as an introduction. People can read and/or hear her responses in a female voice. Today she uses a smaller, more advanced version. With her speech machine and motorized wheelchair, along with a host of supporters, Monica gained a voice, and her dreams and ambitions began to grow. Inspirational, shining star When it came time for middle school, the family convinced Monica that she could thrive at the Young Women’s STEAM Research & Preparatory Academy in Central El Paso. The school is for girls from grades six to 12. It is a partnership between the El Paso Independent School District and the New Tech Network and uses project-based learning techniques. It opened in fall 2017. Monica started the following year. Monica Rodriguez participates in the Unidos Special Olympic Games at Burges High School in May 2024. (Courtesy Rodriguez family) With each semester, Monica became more accepting of what she could not do while at the same time pushing the boundaries of what she could do on and off campus. Monica, a member of the National Honor Society, attended the prom and other senior activities, and participated in theater, soccer, Special Olympics, church and community volunteer programs, as well as summer camps where she ziplined, climbed walls and rode horses. Today, Monica calls her decision to enroll at YWA one of the best choices of her life because she was welcomed and treated as a peer. Instructors and staff called her inspirational. Many commented on the A-B student’s dedication to her studies, and her wry sense of humor. She has a great attitude. She is a shining star Pete Biddle, school librarian School librarian Pete Biddle has felt Monica’s competitive nature. Both have challenged each other annually to hallway races. He always finishes second. He is the Washington Generals to her Harlem Globetrotters. “Something always happens,” he said with a shrug. Biddle remembered one biology assignment to create an animal that adapted over time. Monica envisioned a pink dolphin with wings and asked for Biddle’s help to use a 3D printer for her project. He said most students did not want to use that technology. “She challenges herself,” he said of Monica, who takes advanced placement courses that often mean more work and tougher tests. “Some students complain, but she doesn’t. She has a great attitude. She is a shining star. We’re going to miss her.” EPISD assigned paraprofessionals to help Monica through the years. Their duties include setting up Tobii, preparing the papers she will need for class as well as caring for her personal needs. Rhiana Guy served as an aide to Monica Rodriguez’s through most of her high school years. Guy calls Rodriguez strong, tenacious and determined. “She has no limits,” Guy says. (Courtesy Rodriguez family) Rhiana Guy, Monica’s aide for most of her first three years in high school, said she admired the student’s can-do spirit and willingness to participate in all class activities as well as dance and physical education electives. She said Monica received some accommodations for tests, but does not always use them. “I get emotional thinking about it, but she is just so amazing,” Guy said. Rebecca Guerrero, the high school AP English teacher, has worked with Monica for six years and helped her to almost catch up to her grade level in English and reading skills. “Her persistence is going to serve her so well in the next stage of her life,” Guerrero said. The teacher said that while Tobii allows Monica to communicate, there is a lag between what she thinks and when she can share it. She credited Monica’s classmates for staying on topic long enough for her to share her thoughts whether for gabfests or group assignments. Monica also used her voice to educate classmates about cerebral palsy, one of the country’s most common childhood disorders, according to the National Library of Medicine. The condition stiffens muscles, reduces range of motion, and can affect fine motor skills, the Mayo Clinic states. It is caused by damage that occurs in the brain before birth, but it could happen at birth or in early infancy. There is no cure. On May 30, Monica gave a 13-minute speech during the school’s senior awards dinner. Her talk generated laughter, tears and a standing ovation. She thanked her family, teachers and friends for their love and support, and credited classmates for giving her the courage to take risks and to not fear mistakes. Heather Rodriguez, Monica’s mother, smiles through tears as she listens to Monica’s speech, May 30, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters) Alfredo Rodriguez wipes his eyes as his daughter, Monica, delivers a farewell speech to her senior classmates at Young Women’s STEAM Academy, May 30, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters) She also thanked them for treating her like any other student. “People often think that because I cannot walk or talk that I can’t have emotions or have fears of fitting in,” she said. “I do … like every typical teenager in high school.” She also shared part of her mischievous side. “I will miss the random chances in class to get teachers off topic.” At the ceremony, she rolled away with several honors that marked her persistence and growth in the areas of English and computer science. She also passed the Texas Success Initiative Assessment that determines if a student is ready to do college-level work in reading, writing and mathematics. Lucy Rodriguez, one of Monica’s four sisters, congratulates her at the conclusion of her senior awards night at Young Women’s STEAM Academy, May 30, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters) Her life planned out While enrolled at EPCC, Monica has not registered for fall classes yet. The family has scheduled meetings with Medicaid and Social Security representatives to find the necessary funds to pay for another paraprofessional to help Monica at school. The college’s Center for Students with Disabilities have promised Monica a notetaker and accommodations for tests. The parents want to move slowly initially to make sure Monica is comfortable in her new surroundings. Heather said that means one – maybe two – courses to start. Once Monica is settled, she and the parents will consider other college programs for students with disabilities. While Monica initially wanted to be involved in all aspects of the bakery business, she knows that she lacks the physical abilities to work quickly in a kitchen. Instead, she will focus on the business side while also being the taste tester and recipe chooser. “Those are the most important things to her, actually,” Heather said with a smile. Monica also has talked about spending part of the summer writing a children’s book about inclusion based on her life. The Rodriguez’s, who have four other daughters – Lucy, the oldest, and three younger than Monica: Micaela, Susy and Gaby – said they look to Monica’s future with a combination of excitement and anxiety. Heather said this graduation milestone is bittersweet for everyone, but Monica already is looking forward to catching the Sun Metro LIFT that will take her from her home near Irvin High School to attend classes at the EPCC Transmountain Campus about two miles away. “She’s got her plans,” Heather said. “We’re trying to do our best to help her figure out how to do them.” Monica Rodriguez, 18, who has cerebral palsy, pets a baby goat at a camp organized by the Lions Club in Kerrville, Texas, near San Antonio, in 2022. (Courtesy Rodriguez family) Patsy Achim, who knew Monica through a youth soccer program for players with special needs, recruited her for an annual summer camp organized by the Lions Club in Kerrville, Texas, near San Antonio. She said some campers were scared to participate in certain activities, but Monica was open to everything. “(Monica’s) an exceptional person,” Achim said. “I’ll bet she already has her life planned out. Whatever she chooses to do, she’ll be successful. I won’t be surprised.” While challenged in life, Monica said she has been fortunate to have a small army of supporters who have helped make her strong and independent. She is grateful to her family for treating her as a normal teenager and for instilling in her a love of travel and of trying new things. With her family, she has visited oceans and mountain ranges, camped and cooked over an open fire, and laid out under the stars in Kansas. She has gone sledding and tubing, and been a tourist at the Grand Canyon, Washington, D.C., the Mississippi River and Niagara Falls. Inside this body is just a normal young lady who is capable and determined. monica rodriguez In El Paso, she said family outings include the El Paso Zoo, museums, library programs, farmers’ markets and swap meets. At home, the family tries new recipes and prepares food from different cultures. “My family helps me experience as much of life as I can, and I think that’s special,” Monica said. As a result of all those experiences, she aspires to be a good, kind and compassionate person who gives 100% in everything she does. She said she knows that she will continue to face obstacles in her life from how to navigate college to how to find a job, but she will depend on the positive people in her life and her own mind to find solutions. More than anything else, Monica wants people to know that she is more than her disability. “I may use a wheelchair and a speech device, but those are just tools and not who I am,” Monica said. “Inside this body is just a normal young lady who is capable and determined. I am happy, funny, and sociable and I’ll be your friend if you’ll be mine.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/06/09/cerebral-palsy-graduate-young-womens-steam-academy/ Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/