Power of One: Cerebral palsy no barrier to excellence (CTV)
Channel: inspirationsnews
Date: 2011-06-15

Updated: Fri May. 27 2011 2:20:41 PM

ctvmontreal.ca

MONTREAL — Although born with cerebral palsy, Jay Jones Doyle can do most anything. One thing he can't do, however is stop his son's wrist-shot

"He's a good goalie, but I can score on him," said his son Benjamin Dubuc-Doyle.

Fatherhood and playing sports with his child were not something Doyle's parents ever imagined could happen for their son, after doctor's told his mother, Francine, that a young Jay would never walk.

Unwilling to accept that, Francine Jones worked with her son every night to help him mimic the movements of walking.

That hard work paid off.

When he was five, she received a call from staff at Willingdon Elementary School telling her that he'd managed to grip the railing and take the stairs on his own for the first time.

"I don't think I ever had such a wonderful phone call in my life," said Francine.

Many factors can cause the brain damage that leads to cerebral palsy. It is not communicable or hereditary, and it is not progressive so the condition does not worsen with time.

Approximately 50,000 Canadians have cerebral palsy, and it's estimated that one of every 500 babies, up to one-in-three among premature births, are affected to some extent.

Jones has since returned to his old school many times to talk of his experiencing coping with his condition.

Cerebral palsy has also given him a stutter, a topic he frequently discusses when invited to speak at conferences.

Jones says that dealing with a stutter can be discouraging, but "everybody moves beyond it."

Jones hasn't allowed those barriers to prevent him from attaining excellence at Concordia University, where he was named Outstanding Student of the Year, and elected President of the John Molson School of Business' Graduate Students' Association.

He admits that his physical condition sometimes leaves him frustrated but he has always moved forward to achieve his goals.

It's something he always believed he could do. "I had a chance to prove it and I did," said Doyle.



This article was rewritten on May 27, 2011, after it originally appeared on May 22, 2011.