Cetarra’s Story

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11Cetarra Lewis, a young girl with a beautiful smile and cheerful spirit

Meet Cetarra Lewis, a young girl with a beautiful smile and cheerful spirit. She was born with a rare genetic disorder known as Angelman Syndrome, which robbed her of her speech, is the cause of frequent and often severe seizures, and left her unable to walk without assistance. Yet Cetarra is determined to explore the world on her own two feet. And thanks to UCP’s MOVE program and the Pacer, Cetarra enjoy assisted mobility for up to an hour per day, five days per week.

Her parents, Melinda and Ty Lewis say, “We’ve noticed how respect from others tends to increase when Cetarra is using the Pacer. She’s able to stand on her own, she’s not in a wheelchair with people looking down at her and it makes a difference. Spending much of her time in a wheelchair, or crawling when at home, Cetarra feels a sense of newfound freedom when she’s able to stand upright and look individuals in their eyes.”

Since participating in MOVE, Cetarra, 23, has experienced significant improvements in her health and physical strength. Each week, she increases her capacity of walking further and for longer durations. While using the Pacer, Cetarra has the opportunity to roam the North Highlands Campus of MOVE, admiring the little things along the way.

Always happy and smiling, because of UCP’s MOVE program, Cetarra now has even more to smile about and miles of places to explore.