When Life Gives You Lemons

By Patrick McCarty

My experience with cerebral palsy began when I was 5 or 6 years old. It affected me in many ways. I had many surgeries and lots of physical therapy. I couldn't play many sports. I settled on writing movie reviews for kids in a neighborhood magazine. After I interviewed an actor in a play, my editor asked me to do more interviews.

I interviewed many people based on my interest in sports. I interviewed Trevor Vance, KC Royals’ Head Groundskeeper; Allen Wright, KC Chiefs’ Equipment Manager; Dan Mears, Chiefs’ mascot; Rusty Kuntz, Royals’ first base coach; and Steve Kurtenbach, Emmy-winning sports TV director. I got to do cool things like visit the Chiefs’ locker room and run laps on their practice field. I got to try on a World Series ring and hold the World Series trophy. I got to visit the Royals’ press box, tour the production truck, and learn how they televised the games. However the two most important interviews to me were Jason Benetti, ESPN sportscaster, and Jonathan Rosa, assistant director of the Royal’s Urban Youth Academy.

Both Jason and Jonathan have cerebral palsy. Jonathan wanted to be a baseball player but he couldn’t play the game. Instead he covered the team on his high school paper. In college, he was a student manager for the baseball team and made connections with pro scouts. That is how he got his job with the Royals. Jason wanted to be a sportscaster since he was in second grade. He used to watch baseball in his bedroom and record himself doing play-by-play. He became a successful radio announcer but was afraid to go on TV; he thought he would not be accepted because of his physical appearance. He had to convince people that he was good enough to do the job.

Their stories changed my perspective and helped me handle cerebral palsy. I quit getting angry at myself for having it. I used to deny that I had this disability and I basically just didn't talk about having it. I found others who have cerebral palsy and learned from their experience.