a little boy battles every day problems he encounters as a result of his having spina bifida. He is a new friend to Jose' Varques and Johnny Sandusky; he goes to their school.
Braden-Leigh Michael Hatfield is a little boy whose "can-do" spirit reminds people that if given a chance, the disabled can do anything they set their minds to. Braden-Leigh is such a child.
Braden-Leigh is eight years old, and he has physical disabilities that has affected his ability to get around. For longer treks, he uses a hot, stylish purple wheelchair, and for shorter trips, he relies on a pair of matching Lofstrand (forearm) crutches. He also wears braces upon his skinny legs, and he is paralyzed from just above the waist on down.
Because of his disabilities, Braden-Leigh has had to face many obstacles in his young life; and he has been in and out of the hospital ever since birth. He was born with spina bifida mylomeningocele, which is the severest form of spina bifida, resulting in severe disability, total paralysis, and even some learning and cognitive impairments. He also has vision problems and must wear glasses in order to see better. He has had numerous surgeries, and he faces serious health concerns as a result of his being born with spina bifida.
But despite his problems, Braden-Leigh Hatfield is a very happy and loving little boy who clearly enjoys his life. He has many friends at school, and he does well in all his classes. Even though he is in a special education class, he makes remarkably good grades. He also loves his family, which consists of his mother (his father divorced his mother when he was a baby; the father couldn't cope with their son's disabilities) and three younger sisters, Brandy, Brooklyn, and Brea.
When not in the hospital or not recovering from surgery, Braden-Leigh loves to sing, play the guitar, play video games, spend time with his best friends, Johnny Sandusky and Jose' Varques (Johnny, another disabled boy, goes to his school, but Jose' goes to another school; still, they often play together on the weekends if nothing is going on), and go to Mass each and every Sunday with his family. He loves the tv shows "Malcolm in the Middle", "Star Search", and "America's Most Talented Kid", and he wants to be a famous pop singer when he grows up. He also wants to be in the Air Force, just as his daddy was before he had married his mother. (He had heard about his daddy's Air Force days from his mother, and he has always shown an interest in anything military related.) He also loves to build model airplanes.
Braden-Leigh is a handsome little fellow, kind of short and chubby for his age, with a shock of bright-red hair, freckles on his nose and cheeks, and big grey eyes behind thick glasses; and he loves to wear anything bright. He doesn't look anything like his parents or sisters (all, of whom, are dark-haired and dark-eyed), but he isn't adopted; he just happens to look different than his family. (His mother thinks it may have been from a relative on her side of the family, and Braden-Leigh happened to inherit this relative's "good looks".)
good write, karen, descriptive and informative! only problem, is cut down on the use of "but"..."..."but despite his problems..." "but jose goes to another school..." kind of distracting! otherwise, an excellent write! :) (((HUGS))) and love, karla. :)
