For myself, I've had no particular difficulties with ambulation as I age
with cp - no increase in falling or startling. I think the magnesium helps,
actually.

The only major flip I took was back in 1984, but that wasn't cp related. It
was cat related. I tripped over a black cat that I touched with a bare foot,
in a dimly lit hallway. He decided to park his furball butt in my bedroom,
and as I made my way along and switched on the bedroom light, down I went. I
essentially chose to land on my hands to avoid a head hit, never realising
that my dominant arm would take the full impact to such a damaging degree -
dislocation of the elbow. Not a pretty sight. Took months to recover with
therapy. Nothing like being incarcerated in a hospital for a month where
your father is one of the staff physicians whose purpose it had become to
drive you insane. Couldn't use my crutches, couldn't propel a wheelchair
(kept going around in circles). Totally trapped. I took to pushing an empty
wheelchair up and down the hall, using my good hand/arm. Got sick twice.
Damned hospital germs!

  Moral of the story - if you have a lay-about pet, make a lot of noise to
get the brat outta the way. And turn on lots of lights!

Cheers!

Carla



-----Original Message-----
From: St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of BG Greer, PhD
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2003 6:02 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: CP and ambulation


 My problem relates to weight, or rather, over weight. Sometimes I feel off
balance like  my center of gravity has shifted.

Bobby