Awareness walks can be a powerful tool in raising awareness for cerebral palsy, a condition that results from injuries to a child’s brain during birth or while in the womb. In the case of 15-year-old Hunter Gandee, however, the walk went a step further: Hunter strapped Braden, his 8-year-old brother who is afflicted with cerebral palsy, to his back, and proceeded to trek 57 miles across southern Michigan.
According to an article on CNN.com, Hunter completed the walk as a part of the awareness walk he planned, called Cerebral Palsy Swagger. Hunter has said that “walking is [Braden’s] biggest struggle” and that he wanted to show people that. Many participated in the walk, and Hunter stated that at least fifteen people were constantly by his side during the process.
Hunter never thought the walk would become so big, having initially planned only for his friends to participate. But his expectations were well exceeded when the entire student body of Braden’s school, consisting of 550 students, started the trek with Hunter and Braden. The walk began at Braden’s school and ended at the University of Michigan Pediatric Rehabilitation Center in Ann Arbor, where Braden has a surgery scheduled for lataer this month.
While the walk accomplished Hunter’s goal of bringing awareness to the condition, a spokeswoman for United Cerebral Palsy also noted that the event “gives us a glimpse of the unique relationship that frequently forms between siblings when one has a disablity.”
According to the official Cerebral Palsy Swagger Facebook page, Hunter seeks to raise money to build a cerebral palsy-friendly playground at his brother’s elementary school through a GoFundMe account. The link can be found below.
If your loved one suffers from cerebral palsy, call us for help. We will talk to you and review your case for free. The Tyrone Law Firm specializes in representing those who have suffered a devastating injury, such as birth injuries or traumatic brain injury resulting from the negligence of another. Our personal injury firm here in Atlanta has a very successful record of trying such cases.
Nelson Tyrone handles Brain Injury, Spine Injury and RSD/CRPS cases throughout the United States. He involves only the top medical, rehabilitation and life-care plan experts in the field. His results on behalf of clients include several of the largest settlements and verdicts on record.
You can reach us at 404-377-0017 or via email at admin@tyronelaw.com. If we can’t help you, we will do our best to put you into the hands of lawyers who can.
Additional Resources
- “Teen Carries Brother 57 Miles to Raise Awareness of Cerebral Palsy,” Wyatt Massey, CNN.com, June 9, 2015
- The Cerebral Palsy Swagger Official Facebook Page
- Hunter and Braden’s GoFundMe page
Hayley serves as a Labor and Delivery Nurse Consultant for the Tyrone Law Firm. She attended and graduated Cum Laude from the University of Georgia in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism/Public Relations. After graduation she moved to the gulf coast where she pursued a career in real estate and development.
