article by Valerie Rice via okmulgeenews.net
While other graduates prepare for graduation day, Okmulgee High School senior Micah McDade was preparing for much more. Born with cerebral palsy since birth, McDade has had a lifetime of obstacles, numerous surgeries to overcome and hours upon hours of physical therapy. He never gave up on his path to someday do what comes naturally to most everyone else…walk.
Though he has been told by doctors it may never happen, Micah believes with will, determination and the power of God, all things are possible. On the night of his high school graduation May 20, Micah proved this.
Unbeknownst to his friends and classmates, behind the scenes Micah was working harder than ever to achieve his goal and he picked a very poignant day in his life to show the world. Micah was pushed in his wheelchair to the graduation stage in Harmon Stadium. With shock and surprise, his graduating class and the whole audience realized what he was about to attempt. Yes, Micah stepped out onto the stage. There was barely a dry eye in the audience as the crowds stood and cheered him on every step of the way.
Micah made his first walk publicly across the graduation stage that night along with his class of 2016 and accepted his high school diploma.
His parents Mark and Anisa McDade said they couldn’t be prouder. They stood that night along with the crowd, with tears of joy streaming from their eyes.
Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disorder that appears during infancy and early childhood, and affects body movement, coordination and balance. McDade, who endured multiple surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy, has been practicing for sometime to be ready for this moment.
To see McDade’s moment, watch below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDbV76kSqtc&w=560&h=315]
This human spirit, which causes us to take that impossible step, to drop down and do push-ups after finishing a marathon at 100; which keeps us from taking no for an answer from a Registrar discounting our previous credit hours – it’s God-given, God-inspired and unfathomable in its POWER. If you’re not helping it, you better get out of the way, because it will accomplish what it sets out to do. And that’s all she wrote!