The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Seventeen-year-old Michael Kluba is taking on the challenge of organizing a walkathon for cerebral palsy. The Walk For Cerebral Palsy will be held September 22 to help raise funds for the Cerebral Palsy Association. This organization is close to Kluba's heart, as his cousin, Ryan Nelson, was born with spastic cerebral palsy - the most common form. "We're hoping to raise some awareness, but overall I just want to be able to give some money to the association," says the family motivated teen. Kluba has spent his whole life around Nelson and they have become really close. "Ryan is a quadriplegic, so he doesn't have use of his arms or legs," says Kluba, adding that "he can't talk either." The 17-year-old Nelson is bound to a wheelchair and can only communicate through eye movements and head nods. "It's easy for us to communicate, but it is still a bit of a guessing game," he says. "But when it comes to strangers, they don't know how to talk to him." Kluba will be pushing Nelson through the 7.2 km track across town. "Ryan is really excited about everything," Kluba says, adding that "he's been helping me and pretty much been making all the decisions." When it comes to other family members, Kluba says his mom is always asking whether she can help. "But I think they (his family) are all really proud of us for doing this," he says. Nelson is one of a few people in Flin Flon who have cerebral palsy, and Kluba says it's important to bring awareness to to the condition. Cerebral palsy is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain at birth, and Kluba says "it affects people differently, but Ryan has muscle spasms that he can't control, so it's hard on him." The fundraising walk will take place on Saturday, September 22 starting at Hapnot Collegiate. It will then head up Third Avenue and pass by the hospital and clinic and before heading toward the Co-op. It will continue down Sipple Hill and on to McIsaac School. "This is the first walk for this cause in Flin Flon," says Kluba. "It's normally done on a bike ride, but we're walking it." And Kluba is coming to realize, "it's not as hard to organize as I thought it was going to be." "I haven't even thought about how much I would like to raise," says the teen. " But I guess something like $1,000 or $2,000 would be nice." Pledge sheets will be made available at Vic's Decorating Supplies in the near future.
