God gives us suffering so we can use it to help others– that’s what I keep learning 🙂

It’s  5  : 57 PM on day 991 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Deuteronomy 8,  publish my Disability of the Day feature,  take off my dirty jacket and t-shirt and put on a clean t-shirt, stretch my hamstrings, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles,  feed myself All Bran Flakes and a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, email, tweet and Facebook about my campaign –  still no luck – and  practice typing with both hands.

This morning after going through the painful process of having my hamstrings stretched I realized once again that God gives us suffering so we can use it to help others so today I’m going to share with you some tips on how you can prevent/alleviate some of the most common conditions associated with Cerebral Palsy. Take a look:

How to prevent/alleviate some of the conditions associated with Cerebral Palsy

To alleviate Acid Reflux I:

• Wear loose-fitting clothing (wearing tight-fitting clothing will push the acid in your stomach up)
• Avoid eating late at night  (apparently the stomach is least active at night that combined with the fact that we lay down soon after we eat pushes the acid upwards)
• Avoid caffeine, acidic foods, spicy foods and fatty foods (caffeinated foods/drinks, acidic foods, spicy foods and fatty foods make acid reflux worse)

To alleviate Constipation I:

• Drink water (water makes the stool softer and easier to pass )
• Eat foods that are high in fibre and foods that contain sorbitol (apples, pears and prunes are high in fibre and contain sorbitol)
• Exercise (exercise helps move the stool along)

To alleviate spasticity (constant contraction of specific muscles) I:

• Have someone stretch my hamstrings out for me every day
• Sleep with a pillow between my legs

To prevent bone problems I:

• Take a calcium supplement once a week and make sure my diet is rich in calcium as per my doctor’s advice.