KEEPING IT REAL: Tylia’s Story

We're continuing to amplify the voices of the cerebral palsy community. Check out Tylia’s story.

HOW WRITING HELPS ME COPE WITH CEREBRAL PALSY*
By Tylia L. Flores

As a child growing up, I tried many different hobbies to help me cope with my situation and having cerebral palsy.

I was involved in sports, chorus, and theater, but nothing helped me cope more with my cerebral palsy than writing stories about characters that could express the ways that I was feeling about my daily life with cerebral palsy.

I first got the inspired to start writing after going through grief surrounding my childhood friend, Daniel. He also had cerebral palsy, and dealing with the devastating experience at a very young age, I needed to find an outlet that would allow me to express my pain and sorrow.

So, one night while I was in Barnes & Noble looking for books to read in the newest teen fiction books section, I envisioned myself signing books, but I didn’t know what kind. That’s when the thought came to mind: maybe I should try writing. So, I did just that.

When I got home, I opened up my MacBook Pro and opened up Word — and I wrote the first sentence of James Ticking Time Bomb.

When I started to write, I felt such a relief to be able to have a way of escaping from my lack of my mobility on the left side of my body, which is most affected by my spastic cerebral palsy. 

When I’m writing, all the worries and stress I have with cerebral palsy go away and I can finally express my emotions about the experiences that I’m having at the time. Writing has also allowed me to cope with society and the way society reacts to someone with cerebral palsy, since sometimes people don’t expect people like me.

I feel as if writing has been my safe go-to for years whenever I feel like cerebral palsy has become too much. I can turn on my computer and start writing my heart away and it will be okay.

Writing about my experiences with cerebral palsy has given me the confidence to spread awareness for cerebral palsy and advocate for others who are in my situation but don’t know how to channel their emotions.

It makes me remember that I have a reason to keep going on my bad days, when I feel like cerebral palsy is having a party with muscle spasms and stiffness. When it feels like it’s the end of the world, I can always count on writing to remind me that this doesn’t last forever and I just have to keep on stomping on cerebral palsy, as I always say.

* Tylia’s story is part of KEEPING IT REAL — a series of personal stories that will take you deeper into the lives of people with CP. Each person makes different choices based on what works for them, and we’ll showcase that — highlighting what life is like for them on a daily basis, what they care about, and the ways CP impacts them. 

The KEEPING IT REAL blog is intended solely to raise awareness about the varied human experience with cerebral palsy and shouldn't be read or construed to contain any medical advice or medical endorsement by Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation. Only you and your doctor know what's best for you. Please consult your doctor for medical advice.