Organizations Unite to Hear from a Young Man with Cerebral Palsy About Overcoming Adversity
On January 14, Fred Ginman, a young man with cerebral palsy, met Omaha community members at Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy (HETRA) to share copies of his book about perseverance and positive affirmations.
Fred, along with his mother, Isabela Amaral, arrived in Omaha, Nebraska on a cold Sunday evening to participate in a research study with the Physiology of Walking and Engineering Rehabilitation (PoWER) lab. Dr. Max Kurz directs the PoWER lab. He is a senior scientist at the Institute for Human Neuroscience at Boys Town National Research Hospital. His research focuses on exploring how the motor control centers of the brain are impacted by conditions like cerebral palsy.
While arrangements were being made for their visit, Isabela mentioned to Jennifer Kime, the PoWER lab’s manager, that she and Fred had published a children’s book titled, “I Can, I Want to, I Will.” The story is about how the use of positive affirmations and encouragement helped Fred to overcome struggles early on in his life, “something that everyone has,” says Isabela. They wondered if they could share the book with others who might benefit from its message during their stay. “It was great timing,” remarked Jennifer. “We recently partnered with HETRA a couple of months ago. Both our groups wanted to share resources, so, this worked out great!”
Located on an acreage just outside of Omaha, HETRA’s facilities include a large barn and several fenced-in paddocks that support the 30+ specially trained horses they work with to provide therapeutic lessons to individuals of all ages. Entering the barn doors, visitors are transported into a new world as the scent of hay and horses greets them.
Down a hallway lined with stalls of horses chomping on their evening hay, Fred and Isabela sat next to three other tables. One table represented HETRA, another the PoWER lab, and the third the United Cerebral Palsy chapter for Nebraska. Each organization invited their communities to come together for a cross-organizational event. As several people entered the barn, many stopped to meet Fred and receive a copy of his book, while others were on their way to a riding lesson as the nearby horses poked their heads out of the stalls to see what all the commotion was about.
HETRA specializes in helping individuals with physical and mental limitations experience a unique form of physical and cognitive therapy from licensed professionals in partnership with a specially chosen horse for each rider. Shelby Schult, the program director at HETRA said, “We are excited about partnering with neuroscientists like the PoWER lab because it can help explain why this therapy works. We have seen it work over and over, but maybe now we can explain why.” The event aimed to bring organizations and communities that share a common goal together, and building lasting partnerships was the result.