Why I Struggle With Fireworks as a Person With Cerebral Palsy
“I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sitting there
I said, your old courthouse is kinda run down
He said, naw, it’ll do for our little town
I said, your old flagpole has leaned a little bit
And that’s a ragged old flag you got hanging on it.”
— “Ragged Old Flag,” Johnny Cash
The only thing I like about July 4th is having an excuse to blast Johnny Cash music and get away with it. Other than that, I hate the holiday. Not because I don’t want to celebrate our freedom and independence, but because of the way it affects my cerebral palsy.
Fireworks Aren’t Fun for Cerebral Palsy
July 4th reminds me that I’m not like most 24-year-olds who can go to barbecues with friends and family, have a glass of Jack Daniels and not worry about jumping or having a spastic attack. Fireworks are the worst for me. With each pop my brain starts to dread what’s about to come and how badly it affects my mobility. I jump and shake as my pain becomes more intense throughout my whole body.
People React Like I’m an Alien
Everybody stops and stares at me like I’m an alien from a different planet. Yes, I have cerebral palsy and it makes my body not like loud noises like fireworks. People always ask me, “aren’t you used to that sound by now?” The answer is no, it’s a reflex and I can’t help it. Cerebral palsy and loud noises aren’t best friends!
Struggling with the startle reflex aspect of my cerebral palsy lowers my self-esteem and makes me question if I will ever be able to go out on a date on 4th of July, or see fireworks with my able-bodied friends. Will I be able to keep my spasms and jumping attacks under control?
It Doesn’t Stop Me, Though
Although my cerebral palsy is affected by fireworks, I continue to go out and celebrate our independence day. I don’t want to live within my own thoughts and dwell on the negative side of things, so for now, I’ll keep on trying to stomp on the challenges of fireworks.
Getty photo by Iris Images.
Tylia L. Flores is a twenty-eight-year-old born with Spastic Cerebral Palsy. Despite her condition that affects her mobility, she does not allow it to affect her will and determination to make a difference in the world. Through her many life challenges and obstacles, she discovered her passion for writing. Tylia’s goal in life is to share her stories with the world. In doing so, she hopes to help others with disabilities realize that they, too, have the potential to make their dreams come true. Tylia is not only an author. She’s a radio show personality and a disability activist. Tylia has written about disability-related topics for Yahoo Life, Your Tango, The Mighty, ReadUnwritten.com, Words Between Coasts Project, Wednesday, Spilwords, and Goble Thrive. Worth Living Among her other appearances are Disability on the Spectrum and Why I was Afraid of Sexuality. Previously, Tylia was nominated to Diversabilities list of the most influential Disability Impacts of 2022. Additionally, Tylia holds the position of chairman in the creative director role for the North American Association Of Cerebral Palsy Advocates. She serves as a mentor for the Disability EmpowHer Network as well. Tylia also works for Write It Up Publishing as a sensitivity reader focusing on disability representation. Tylia has also been involved in many movie press releases for Samuel Goldwyn Films Come as you are Piece of me which was the short film directed and written by award winning filmmaker Bruna Cabral as well as the film adaptation of the book Calvin can’t fly by Jenifer Burnes Tylia is also a keynote speaker at 2020’s Cerebral Palsy Awareness conference. She has also been a guest speaker at Northeastern State University Broken Arrow where she talks to college students about disability and inclusion in education. She has also been a guest speaker at Plantation Middle School, where she discussed inclusion and disability with classmates. Tylia is fully certified in Education for All: Disability, Diversity, and Inclusion through Cape Town University. She’s also certified in Understanding Diversity and Inclusion through Purdue University. She’s also certified in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Tylia hosts the Stomping On cerebral Palsy radio show with DJ Ty on Asheville FM with DJ Mouse during the Come On In the Kitchen segment once a month she also helps the staff behind the scenes, help bring awareness to disability awareness and inclusion within the radio broadcasting industry .
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