November 1999

Living Life
to the Fullest

"God didn’t give me walking legs," is the title of a book in development by Betty Miller, a retired resident at The Timbers in Wichita.

As a child, Betty survived tropical dysentery only to develop cerebral palsy. She was treated by the doctor who first coined the term "cerebral palsy."

At first, doctors didn’t know what to do with Betty. She was erroneously treated with braces, weights and casts, and eventually sent to a school for the incurable. She says treatment has come a long way over the years.

"We used to be classified as mentally retarded or insane ... now we know people with cerebral palsy often have good intelligence, just uncooperative bodies," says Betty.

Cerebral palsy is a brain injury that occurs before, during or after birth, and is characterized by involuntary motions and difficulty controlling muscles.

Surfing the net

Betty uses a computer that was partially funded by United Way. She e-mails relatives around the country, surfs the Web and writes her book. When surfing the Internet, she likes to search the cerebral palsy pages for information. The computer is much easier for her to use than the telephone.

United Cerebral Palsy of Kansas, a United Way-funded agency, will offer computer training classes for The Timbers and adult day care residents sometime in January.

They call her grandma

Betty lives with 100 neighbors at The Timbers, a small community of apartments, specially built with accessible rooms and operated by United Cerebral Palsy of Kansas. Residents have their own kitchen, buy their own food and live semi-independent lives.

"I really like it here ... the atmosphere is wonderful and the people all call me Grandma or Granny," says Betty.

At The Timbers, she receives regular range-of-motion exercises each week. She also spends time doing needlepoint, reading her Bible and "zooming" up and down Woodlawn Avenue in her motorized wheelchair. When she wants to connect, she logs onto the computer in her comfortable apartment surrounded by photos and knickknacks of her children and grandchildren.

A full life

Betty has led a full life. She married twice, raised three children, and traveled around the world. She is glad that the public attitude toward cerebral palsy is changing, thanks to the work of United Cerebral Palsy of Kansas and other advocacy groups.

"I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given and encourage others not to forget the role these agencies play in helping persons with disabilities," Betty said.

Call United Way of the Plains at 267-1321 to find out more about how your money is helping our community.