This is the story of a guy that will not let his physical disability get in the way of what he wants to do.

Cerebral Palsy is a debilitating disease. Wikipedia says of it…

It is a non-progressive disorder, meaning the brain damage does not worsen, but secondary orthopedic difficulties are common. For example, onset of arthritis and osteoporosis can occur much sooner in adults with cerebral palsy. In addition, motor disorder(s) may be accompanied by “disturbances of sensation, cognition, communication, perception, and/or behavior, and/or by a seizure disorder”.

There is no known cure for CP. Medical intervention is limited to the treatment and prevention of complications arising from CP’s effects. A 2003 study put the economic cost for CP sufferers in the US at $921,000 per case, including lost income.

There are people that will become victims to it – and there are people like Matthew Milligan that refuse to.

Matthew decided that he was taking up photography. He didn’t pay attention to the fact that his arms would shake considerably while taking a photo. He just “took more” to compensate.

Matthew said to himself – it’s not an issue – I’ll do what I want in spite of any physical limitations. I’m going to do what I want to do and not sit at home in a chair and have people wait on me because I have Cerebral Palsy.

He’s been exhibiting his photographs at local juried artist shows at his home in Bonita Springs, Fort Myers.

Doctors were worried that Matthew wouldn’t walk or ride a bike…

Matthew can run 15.2 miles and ride a motorbike at 40 mph.

How’s that for silencing the negative predictions?

What’s holding you back from doing something you want to do?

Too much time? Too much effort?

Anthony Robbins said something pretty powerful I think… he said,

“How much time do you give your average baby to learn to walk?”

As long as it needs obviously. The baby doesn’t stop trying to walk. It falls down and gets hurt and it’s no fun – but, eventually most of us that can – learn to walk.

That same exercise can be applied to almost anything you attempt. How much did Lance Armstrong try to bicycle in order to become good enough, eventually to win the Tour de France 7 times?

A lot.

Trying over and over – is something that we do in order to achieve. Matthew is showing us that he can achieve – he can run over 15 miles WITH Cerebral Palsy. How many of us can do that without it?

Whatever you want – that you can have with continued effort. With sacrifice sometimes – and with trying again. There’s nothing more powerful than trying again. Again. Again. Again. If you want it – you can have it – if you try again… each time you’re getting a little bit closer to what you want.

If you have to take 200 photos to get one that looks like this… is it worth it?

One of Matthew's photos.

Credit: Original story at news-press.com by Amy Sowder.