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Brianna Salinaro

Massapequa, NY
  • Brianna Salinaro in the photo 1
  • Brianna Salinaro in the photo 2

I was diagnosed with a mild case of Cerebral Palsy at the age of one and a half as a result of being born two and a half months premature. As a baby I started crawling at a very late age and when I began to walk I would only walk on my toes. My feet were so pointed that I couldn't even keep my shoes on. My parents took me to a lot of different doctors to try to figure out what was wrong, and they told them it was something I would grow out of and to not give it much thought. Knowing that the doctors were wrong my parents continued to search for answers and it wasn't until we met Dr. Raggio that we discovered I was born with Cerebral Palsy. After examining all options of treatment which included injections of botox or an operation, my parents and Dr. Raggio decided it would be best to undergo surgery to lengthen both of my Achilles tendons in hopes it would give me the correct ability to walk. Fortunately the surgery was a success but it took a lot more then surgery to get standing on my own two feet.

I went home with two big blue casts on both of my legs and did not get them off until six weeks later. From the time I got my casts off until about the age of three I wore leg braces on both of my legs during both the day and night. Eventually with the help of physical therapy I was able to graduate from wearing my braces during all hours of the day to only at night. Not only did my CP affect my legs but it affected both my upper body and speech as well. From the age of one and a half to three years old I went through speech therapy and from the age of two to eight I went through occupational therapy. Today at the age of eighteen I continue to participate in physical therapy and wear leg braces on both my legs at night.

Growing up with Cerebral Palsy was definitely not easy. Depending on how tight my muscles were at the time and how much pain I was in I would walk with a limp. Kids used to call me a duck and made fun of me consistently in gym class and while I was walking through the hallways. Because of my disability I would have to be pulled out of class for both physical and occupational therapy and during gym class I would do things such as running, balancing, and skipping differently then the other kids resulting in constant bullying. Growing up I was always super self conscious about my disability but I never let it stop me from participating in sports and activities. At the age of nine I joined Taekwondo in hopes that it would increase my balance, confidence, and overall quality of life. I quit many times throughout my Taekwondo career because I knew I was different then the other kids and always did not perform as well as them. I always fell down and kicked lower then anyone else resulting in low self esteem. Regardless of my disability I always had a passion for martial arts, at the age of fourteen I decided my disability was something that would not stand in the way of pursuing my passion any longer. I started competing alongside my teammates and earned my first degree black belt in April of 2013. Once I became more serious about Taekwondo I began dreaming of being part of the USA National Team, but I knew it wasn't possible because of my disability. Recently I discovered that there is a Para USA National Team, which I will compete for a spot on the team this coming July. This past February I competed in both the US and Canada Open where I received gold medals in both sparring and from earning the title of being number one in the world in my division. Today I am the first and only female para Taekwondo athlete for the United States. My ultimate goal is to compete at the first ever Taekwondo Paralympics in 2020.

I would not have accomplished or even dreamed of the things I'm doing today if it wasn't for Dr. Raggio and the rest of the staff at Hospital for Special Surgery. I would like to thank everyone for devoting their time to giving me a chance at a normal life and giving me the ability to walk.