About Me
My name is Craig V. Abbott II and I should have died a long time ago -- at least that's what the experts said. I guess I fooled them!
When I was about 6 months old, my mother noticed that I didn't move around like other babies did. So she decided to take me to a doctor to see if there was anything wrong. Unfortunately, there was. After being tested, doctors discovered that I had a serious disease: Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type I. They told my family that I probably would not live past 2 years of age -- and even if I did, I would be on a ventilator. Everyone was scared. There wasn't much hope for me.
Luckily, I have been blessed to be born into a family of fighters. The thought that we would just give up and that I would surrender to this disease never entered our heads. So we fought.
Unfortunately, not much is know about SMA because of how serious it is: most of the people who have it, die. There isn't much time to do research, and there's no medicine for it because there's no one around to take it. That made it even tougher for us -- but it didn't stop us.
My mother began doing research on her own, and my doctors were always open-minded enough to let me try new things. And that is just what we did: we "experimented." Some things didn't work; but a lot of things did. Sure, I was sick a lot, especially with pneumonia, but I always made it through.
As I got older, I wanted to do everything just like everyone else. I went to school alongside my friends. I never fell behind. I went to my high school prom with my girlfriend and dance with her while in my wheelchair, and I graduated right on schedule.
Over the years, I tried a lot of things that people said I would never be able to do. My favorite was probably learning to play guitar and being in a band. I love music!
After high school, I decided that I needed to start speaking about my disease so that I could help other people, even those that don't have a disease. I figure that everyone could use a little uplifting from time to time, and I like to uplift people.
Right now I am spending my time speaking at events and trying to get my autobiography published. I have already published a "sampler" of pictures and chapters that people sometimes buy. This helps with my bigger goals of being published. I also like to write poetry and am working on a fiction novel. The way that I see it, there's no big deal that I am in a wheelchair. The sky's the limit!
Craig (C.V.) Abbott
When I was about 6 months old, my mother noticed that I didn't move around like other babies did. So she decided to take me to a doctor to see if there was anything wrong. Unfortunately, there was. After being tested, doctors discovered that I had a serious disease: Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type I. They told my family that I probably would not live past 2 years of age -- and even if I did, I would be on a ventilator. Everyone was scared. There wasn't much hope for me.
Luckily, I have been blessed to be born into a family of fighters. The thought that we would just give up and that I would surrender to this disease never entered our heads. So we fought.
Unfortunately, not much is know about SMA because of how serious it is: most of the people who have it, die. There isn't much time to do research, and there's no medicine for it because there's no one around to take it. That made it even tougher for us -- but it didn't stop us.
My mother began doing research on her own, and my doctors were always open-minded enough to let me try new things. And that is just what we did: we "experimented." Some things didn't work; but a lot of things did. Sure, I was sick a lot, especially with pneumonia, but I always made it through.
As I got older, I wanted to do everything just like everyone else. I went to school alongside my friends. I never fell behind. I went to my high school prom with my girlfriend and dance with her while in my wheelchair, and I graduated right on schedule.
Over the years, I tried a lot of things that people said I would never be able to do. My favorite was probably learning to play guitar and being in a band. I love music!
After high school, I decided that I needed to start speaking about my disease so that I could help other people, even those that don't have a disease. I figure that everyone could use a little uplifting from time to time, and I like to uplift people.
Right now I am spending my time speaking at events and trying to get my autobiography published. I have already published a "sampler" of pictures and chapters that people sometimes buy. This helps with my bigger goals of being published. I also like to write poetry and am working on a fiction novel. The way that I see it, there's no big deal that I am in a wheelchair. The sky's the limit!
Craig (C.V.) Abbott