Teen and family kick aside barriers
As posted at:
As posted by Kelly Soderland: September 21, 2008 6:00 a.m.
Boy with cerebral palsy finds ways to fit in
Luke Labas awkwardly uses his left hand to push the joystick on his power wheelchair at full speed, and like a heat-seeking missile, rolls back onto the court and into the soccer game. This game is filled with the sounds of battery-powered wheelchairs revving up and down, trying to keep up with the various speeds their drivers desire. The sound of rubber tires screeching against the floor fills the gymnasium at the Turnstone Center for Children and Adults with Disabilities.
Luke, 14, sees an opportunity to send the 13-inch oversized soccer ball through the goal and maneuvers his chair to set up the play. He lines his wheelchair up sideways and twirls the joystick so that his chair swings around 90 degrees. The basket attached to the front of the wheelchair makes contact with the ball, sending it sailing to the end of the court. While his legs can’t do the celebration dance his mind wanted them to, Luke still took the liberty of taking a confident victory drive down the court.
Luke has cerebral palsy, a group of disorders that affects muscle and body movement that resulted from a brain injury. People are affected differently, from being able to walk only awkwardly to being confined to a wheelchair. Luke has never walked independently. His wheelchair serves as his legs, says his mom, Jan Labas.
But Luke has figured out a way to make his “legs” soar. He’s a member of Turnstone’s national champion power soccer team, usually composed of six men and women with various disabilities.
Aggressive play
Luke and his soccer teammates, the Fantastic Flyers, will spend the next seven months preparing for the regional competition, hoping to qualify for nationals again. In June, the Fantastic Flyers beat the other Turnstone team, the Fearless Flyers, during the national championships for the United States Power Soccer Association in Atlanta.
The national league brings together teams from across the country to compete. Power soccer players have disorders such as quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, head trauma, stroke and spinal cord injury, according to the league’s Web site. As difficult as it can be to travel with multiple power wheelchairs, the Turnstone families do it. They made their way to Indianapolis last year for the regional competition and usually leave the state for nationals.
One team member drives her wheelchair with her feet because she does not have enough coordination in her hand to control a joystick. She drives barefoot because she can’t feel the sensation of the pedal through her socks. Another man has muscular dystrophy and drives his wheelchair with his chin. They play hard and they play aggressively. As one of the players, who is a quadriplegic, told Jan, “What am I going to do? Break my neck? I’ve already done that.”
For Luke, it’s a chance for him to meet people who know what he’s going through and a chance to just hang out with friends. While most middle school students spend a lot of time hanging out at their friends’ homes, Luke can’t because his classmates don’t have handicapped-accessible homes. For Jim and Jan Labas, it’s an opportunity for them to see their son thrive at something he loves. There’s nothing better than seeing Luke and his teammates score a goal during a game, Jan said.
“They’re smiling with every inch of their body.”