"Graduates celebrate conquest of odds Twins, mother have fought to overcome health problems."
Carla Tercey never thought she'd see her twin sons crawl,
let alone graduate from high school.
But on Saturday, 19-year-old Jason and Jeremy Tercey,
dressed in blue gowns, walked across the stage at Westport
High School to accept their diplomas.
``It gives me goose bumps every time I think about it,创
Carla Tercey said. ``I am really proud of both of them. I
get all these emotions when I think back on all the things
we went through. 创
Jason and Jeremy were born March 17, 1978, a month early.
Carla Tercey, who was bedridden for about a month before,
went into premature labor, and doctors determined that she
needed an immediate Caesarean section.
``The next thing they told me was that I had twins,创 said
Carla Tercey, who was unaware she was carrying twins.
``Surprise, surprise. 创
But that was not all that the doctors told her. They said
Jeremy, at 3 pounds, and Jason, at 2 pounds, were too
small to survive.
``They told me the babies were not going to make it past
the first 24 hours,创 she said. ``I was in shock,
everything hit me so fast. Then the next day they told me
that they would make it, but there would be a lot of
problems. 创
One was that the twins' growth would be stunted, something
that did not happen. Both Jason and Jeremy are more than 6
feet tall.
The twins, however, survived on respirators for 2 1/2
weeks and remained at Children's Mercy Hospital for two
months. Doctors soon discovered that Jason and Jeremy were
deaf and had mild cerebral palsy.
At 2 years old, they began attending Crippled Children's
Nursery School, now called Children's TLC, where they
learned sign language and received intensive physical,
occupational and speech therapy.
Carla Tercey recalled that Jeremy could not walk until he
had operations on his legs when he was 4. After the
operations, he used a walker to get around.
One day the neighborhood kids were over, running around
and up and down the driveway.
``Jeremy just picked that walker up and threw it,创 his
mother said. ``He then walked all the way down the
driveway. That was the first time he walked by himself. 创
When the boys reached school age, Carla Tercey refused to
send them to a school for the deaf. She insisted on public
school.
``I checked schools out, but I just felt that public
school would be best because they would be in a hearing
world once they graduated,创 she said. ``I did not want
them to be secluded in a deaf world and come out and be
totally lost. I wanted them to be used to being around
people who are hearing. 创
She served as the boys' interpreter through the third
grade, even accompanying them to class. She finally
convinced school administrators and state education
officials that the boys were entitled to an interpreter.
By the time they reached high school, both Jeremy and
Jason became interested in athletics and were on the
Westport High School track team.
``I was the slowest one, but I hung in there and didn磘
let it bother me that I came in last every time,创 Jeremy
said. ``I磎 more confident now. 创
Jason made the United States' 400-meter relay team that
won a silver medal during last year's Paralympic Games in
Atlanta. In July, he will compete on the U.S. team during
the Cerebral Palsy World Championship Games in Nottingham,
England.
Jason and Jeremy, with their mother interpreting, said
they plan to attend Johnson County Community College.
Jeremy first wants to find a job and then study computer
graphics. Jason hopes to pursue a major in computer
science.
``It has taken a lot of work to get to this point,创 Carla
Tercey
said, ``I will never regret any of it. I am just very,
very proud of them. 创
Copyright:
METROPOLITAN
Graduates celebrate conquest of odds Twins, mother have
fought to overcome health problems.
By: ROBERT A. CRONKLETON Staff Writer
Date: 06/01/97
From Kansas City Star
Web site: http://www.kcstar.com
