Palmer Harston

Palmer Harston
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Palmer Harston
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Palmer Harston

Easter Seals 2000 Youth Representative
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Palmer practices tennis, one of her favorite sportsPalmer practices tennis, one of her favorite sports

Like pioneers before her, Palmer Harston, 14, is breaking new ground.She is the first student to use a wheelchair on the new, accessible campus of Lexington Christian Academy.And with architectural barriers out of her way, she is changing perceptions about people with disabilities while focusing on the new classes and friends that come with freshman year.

Six years ago, a car accident paralyzed 8-year-old Palmer's legs, and seriously injured her mother and younger sister.Faced with uncertainty, Palmer spent a month as an inpatient at Easter Seals Kentucky Cardinal Hill Hospital undergoing extensive rehabilitation, then an additional two months in Cardinal Hill's outpatient program, where Easter Seals therapists pushed Palmer's limits nine hours a day to prove she could accomplish anything.

"Easter Seals helped put my life back together when I wasn't sure it was possible," Palmer says, "and taught me that no one can put limits on what I can do because of my disability."

Today Palmer receives outpatient services at Easter Seals Cardinal Hill three to four times a year, and meets with her rehabilitation doctor and surgeon to assess the wheelchairs she uses for mobility, as well as the leg braces and electrical stimulation equipment she uses to prevent her leg muscles from atrophying.Staff also evaluate her daily medical care program and update Palmer and her family on the latest advances in spinal cord rehabilitation.Palmer's relationship with Easter Seals includes sharing the outcomes of her hard work as a mentor to kids in Cardinal Hill's spinal cord unit, taking time to answer questions about what it's like to live with a spinal cord injury, and to lend support.

As Easter Seals 2000 national youth representative, Palmer traveled across the country, including an April visit to the nation's capitol to meet the President.Palmer says Washington, D.C., inspired her to pursue a career as a member of Congress or the Senate to both support what she believes in and help people with disabilities secure more rights.

Palmer says she enjoyed meeting the people who make Easter Seals possible, and having a chance to thank them."I've appreciated the opportunity to share that Easter Seals is an organization that helps people when they have a disability from an accident, or if they need rehabilitation," she says.

Like pioneers before her, Palmer Harston, 14, is breaking new ground.She is the first student to use a wheelchair on the new, accessible campus of Lexington Christian Academy.And with architectural barriers out of her way, she is changing perception about people with disabilities while focusing on the new classes and friend that come with freshman year.

Six years ago, a car accident paralyzed 8-year old Palmer's legs, and seriously injured her mother and younger sister.Faced with uncertainty, Palmer spent a month as an impatient at Easter Seals Kentucky Cardinal hill Hospital undergoing extensive rehabilitation, then an additional two months in Cardinal Hill's outpatient program, where Easter Seals therapists pushed Palmer's limits nine hours a day to prove she could accomplish anything.

"Easter Seals helped put my life back together when I wasn't sure it was possible," Palmer says, "and taught me that no one can put limits on what I can do because of my disability."

Today Palmer receives outpatient services at Easter Seals Cardinal Hill three to four times a year, and meets with her rehabilitation doctor and surgeon to assess the wheelchairs she uses for mobility, as well as the leg braces and electrical stimulation equipment she uses to prevent her leg muscles from astrophying.Staff also evaluate her daily medical care program and update Palmer and her family on the latest advanced in spinal cord rehabilitation.Palmer's relationship with Easter Seals included sharing the outcomes of her hard work as a mentor to kids in Cardinal Hill's spinal cord unit, taking time to answer questions about what it's like to live with a spinal cord injury, and to lend support.

As Easter Seals 2000 national youth representative, Palmer traveled across the country, including an April visit to the nation's capitol to meet the President.Palmer says Washington, D.C., inspired her to pursue a career as a member of Congress or the senate to both support what she believe in and help people with disabilities secure more rights.

Palmer says she enjoyed meeting the people who make Easter Seals possible, and having a chance to thank them."I've appreciated the opportunity to share that Easter Seals is an organization that helps people when they have a disability from an accident, or if they need rehabilitation," she says."They give more than physical help - they're like a family."

Courtesy of Easter Seals Annual Report, Copyright 2000.

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