Rafferty has cerebral palsy, or CP, but that hasn’t stopped him from trying to achieve his goals in life. There is no doubt he has a disability, but he never let CP become a handicap. His CP made his life more difficult and his goals a little harder to accomplish than most people. But, he never let CP stop him from trying.

As I got to know him I found out that one of his goals was to attend college. Despite his disability and being middle-aged at the time, he felt as if he lacked an education.

Rafferty likes to feel normal by being active. For him, part of leading a normal life was going to college. So, he enrolled. College life is difficult, even more so for someone with a disability. Traveling across campus to go to class, taking notes, reading his assignments, and researching papers in the library are all the more challenging to someone with CP.

I first knew him as a client, and later as friend. I helped provide recreational opportunities to him when I knew him as a client. Later, when he no longer was a client, we became friends and socialized together from time to time.

We went to one football game together on a beautiful, cool Saturday afternoon. At the time there was a special place where people in wheelchairs could view the field. I sat next to him as we watched the game together. We brought along liquid refreshments and enjoyed the game and the glow of the setting sun on our faces. I don’t remember if the home team won or lost, but Rafferty and I enjoyed a delightful day.

His disability is a hardship for him, but he has learned to live as normal a life as he can despite his condition. He tried hard to do well in school, but it was a challenge. His difficulties didn’t discourage him, however. Because doing well in school is difficult for so many students, it helped Rafferty feel like he was one of the gang.

It was inspiring to me to watch him try to get his education. He was unwilling to give up as he wanted to live a normal life as a college student. I saw that for him, living a normal life was an extra challenge.

Rafferty never let CP stop him from trying to achieve his goals in life. He never let his disability take over his life. His disability was one of the body, but not of the mind or spirit. He saw his lack of education, not his disability, to be more of a handicap. His goal was to eliminate it as a barrier.

Life often throws us a “curve ball,” but it doesn’t have to impede us from trying to achieve our goals. Having a disability didn’t stop Rafferty from trying to achieve his.

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