University Of Florida PIKE Bid Three-Year-Old With Cerebral Palsy, Win Feel-Good Award Of The Year

Doctor Franzia8 years ago

Here’s a feel-good story the likes of which we need more of these days: Pi Kappa Alpha at the University of Florida just bid a kickass miracle kid from the school’s Dance Marathon.

I wanted to share this with you guys, last week my chapter (Pi Kappa Alpha at the University of Florida) initiated a miracle child from Dance Marathon. His name is Declan Patrick. Declan is three years old, he was born with cerebral palsy in both of his legs and he has digestive track issues which unfortunately means he has to be fed through a feeding tube every time he eats. However, Declan is one of the funniest and nicest kids I’ve met. He loves to play sports and last weekend we gave him an honorary bid. Now when he has to come gainesville to visit the doctors at Shands Hospital three times a week, he can now come by the house and play basketball and sports with our brothers. He had an incredible amount of fun his first time coming around, and his parents have told me he can not wait to come back.

This tip was submitted by a UF PIKE named Chris. Check out Declan with his official bid card:

Cerebral palsy is a bitch of a birth defect usually involving a lack of oxygen or other developmental interruptions in the motor control centers of the brain. It has a wide range of manifestations, from a relatively minor cerebellar stumble to full-blown systemic muscular insufficiency. As it so happens, Declan’s variant (involving a feeding tube) is one of the rarest and most severe forms of CP, and only affects about 7% of cerebral palsy sufferers. In addition, severe ataxic CP tends to come with a ton of co-morbidities and other problems that basically make living very difficult.

Kids with these kinds of extremely limiting congenital diseases may seem extra sad to us, but the thing is, the kids themselves tend to have an amazing outlook on life and a strong desire to do all the things kids like to do without being limited by their disease. It’s awesome to see a group of guys like UF PIKE who recognize that indomitable spirit and welcome Declan as one of their own. Especially if the kid is needing weekly doctor’s appointments, having a fun place to blow off steam and just be a kid again is totally essential.

I’m proud these guys found this opportunity to take their philanthropy further and make a lasting friendship with a medically-disadvantaged child.

Great job, PIKE..

Image via UF IFC Chapter Profiles