Photos courtesy Beth Crenshaw Photography
By Suzanne Rhodes
Official Kids Mag
Imagine doctors telling your
parents that you'll never be
able to do anything in life
because you have a disability.
Wouldn't that be a downer?
Well, that's what they told Mr.
and Mrs. Crenshaw when Willa
was born at only 27 weeks
and suffered from a serious
brain injury. The normal time
of development before birth
is 37-42 weeks. Willa has a
condition called cerebral palsy,
or CP, and Mrs. Crenshaw
said the doctors were trying
to prepare her for life with a
disabled child.
But Willa, who has a twin
brother named Chief and
four other siblings, is a fighter.
"She's overcome all these
things that people never
thought she would," said
her mom. "She's the most
determined, persistent kid that
I've ever known."
That's why we've chosen
Willa as this month's Kid Hero.
Willa is eight years old and
in the second grade at Skyline
Heights Elementary School in
Harrison, Arkansas. She's in
a special K-4 class called Life
Skills with 20 other children
who have special needs.
She also spends time in a
mainstream, general education
class. "Our goal is to see
that time increase," said Mrs.
Crenshaw.
But with the coronavirus,
her school—like schools all
across the country—is closed.
"She really misses it right now.
She misses her friends," Mrs.
Crenshaw said."
To give you an idea of how
far this little girl has come, she
was supposed to come home
from the NICU (Newborn
Intensive Care Unit) on
oxygen, but her mom said,
"she beat that before she even
got home. She had a feeding
tube too. By the time she was
a year old, she got to have
that removed."
Then there was the problem
of movement. With CP, the
Where
there's a
WILLA
there's a
WAY!
"
"
Willa
36 • MAY 2020 • Of f icialKidsMag.com
