THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503170176
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
JARED CAWLEY, 8, is the kind of kid who likes to stand out in a crowd.
When it came time to pick out a new wheelchair, he had to have a fluorescent yellow one.
``My mom wanted light yellow,'' he said. ``But I wanted neon so I can stand out.''
Jared, a student at North Landing Elementary School, definitely got attention at a recent physical education program, when he showed a crowd of more than 100 exactly how to do the hokey pokey.
``That stuff is easy,'' he said, referring to the dances performed by the festive first-graders.
Jared has been in a wheelchair since he was 3, when a spinal tumor was removed from his upper back. ``We think that he was born with it,'' said Wanda Cawley, Jared's mother.
After he began walking, Jared's parents noticed his knees dipped when he walked and his back pain seemed unbearable.
Worried about their son, the Cawleys took Jared to the hospital. ``I was told I was being overprotective,'' Wanda Cawley recalled.
She asked for a referral to get a second opinion, and ended up taking Jared to a children's hospital in Illinois, where the Cawleys lived at the time.
Again, nothing was seriously wrong, doctors said. He needed orthopedics, that's all.
When the Cawleys saw the orthopedic doctor, he immediately ordered a MRI, a whole body scan.
Twelve hours after the scan Jared, who has just turned 3, was in surgery.
The procedure took nearly 11 hours and three doctors. After Jared was rested, the Cawleys were told that while most of the tumor was out, it would be smart to stop and to leave the rest alone.
``They didn't want to damage any nerves they didn't have to,'' Wanda Cawley said. ``One doctor started crying after the surgery. He said, `I treated him like he was my own.' He didn't know how far to go.''
Jared's tumor was benign; but there was a 10 percent chance of it coming back. He stayed in the hospital for about three weeks, learning self-catheterization and other needs for at-home care.
After four weeks in a rehabilitation institution, Jared returned home.
In the spring of 1991, the family moved to the area, into a house built with Jared in mind. Wooden ramps are at the front door and there's enough yard to surround the house with concrete - a job that's currently in the works.
Shortly after they settled down, Wanda Cawley applied for financial help from the Shriners and got it. They agreed to pay whatever the family's insurance, Champus, didn't cover.
Jared, who was 5 by then, was flown to Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia for an initial evaluation, where they found that the leftover part of his tumor was causing a blockage.
He was sent to a children's hospital in Pennsylvania, where he had a second surgery. The family was told Jared might not have the use of his arms and might not be able to swallow afterward.
Twelve hours later, Jared was out of surgery - with nothing lost. ``We were so relieved,'' Wanda Cawley said. Since then, all of his MRIs have come back clean.
Jared was enrolled in special education pre-school at North Landing, where he learned the basics like counting and ABCs, while working with a therapist.
He was mainstreamed into kindergarten, and then into first grade in 1993, but was held back because of absences.
Jared is repeating first grade this year. ``He feels more confident,'' Wanda Cawley said. ``He's ahead of the class and he's learning more because he is advanced.''
He participates in art and music. In physical education class, Jared's been known to push himself out of his chair and race his classmates in crawling matches. ``I just do it for fun,'' he said.
The kids eat it up. ``A lot of first-graders envy him,'' said Trish Becker, the school nurse. ``They'd like to speed down the hall like he does. They think it's kind of cool. There's nothing but positive feelings going around.''
He's near independent for his age - in charge of taking care of whatever has to be done. If he's hungry, he gets his own food. If he has to take a pill, he gets a drink and takes it.
``I think that comes from the fact that he's not babied,'' Wanda Cawley said. ``He's responsible.''
Jared said he rarely asks for help, unless he tips over - which has only happened a couple of times. ``Most everything I can do by myself,'' he admitted.
His attitude has much to do with his upbringing. ``He's got to learn to be as self-sufficient as possible,'' Wanda Cawley said. ``Not that you have to push kids to grow up - they need to learn respect and manners. I don't think that comes soon enough for most kids.''
Day-by-day living is the Cawley way of life. ``Everything's what you make of it,'' Wanda Cawley added. ``You just do it. You start everyday with prayer and end every night with thanks. That's what we do.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by HOLLY WESTER
RIGHT: Jared Cawley, a North Landing Elementary School first-grader
who uses a wheelchair, waits for his part in the school's physical
education program. He showed a crowd of more than 100 exactly how to
do the hokey pokey.
ABOVE: The Cawleys, Scott, 12, Wanda, and Erica, 6, watch the
program. ``He's got to learn to be as self-sufficient as possible,''
his mother said.
by CNB