Attitude is everything

Cody McCasland was born without a working set of legs – but now has pairs for just about any occasion. The seven-year-old has a rare condition called Sacral Agenesis which caused deformities to his spine in the womb. He arrived without any tibia or knee bones and had to have his legs amputated below the knee at 15 months. 

Two months later he was fitted with his first pair of prosthetic legs, and hasn’t stopped moving since. His mother Tina, 36, said: ‘Hardly anyone takes to prosthetics so well. It was amazing – it was as if Cody had just been waiting .

 
Cody now has three different sets of prostheses. One set he uses for everyday walking, another, stubbies, for playing low on the ground with his friends, and a third, running prostheses, he uses for his athletic endeavors. Cody is currently in 1st grade. 


He swims, plays sled hockey, runs and plays the piano. Cody competed this past summer at the University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games in the 60 meter and 100 meter races, earning gold medals in each event for his classification, as well as swam the 25 meter freestyle and backstroke, again winning gold for his age and classification. In October, Team Cody will be going to the San Diego Triathlon Challenge. Cody will be running in the kid's fun run, as well as running a portion of the 13.1 miles for our triathlon team. This December, Cody completed the last mile for Team Cody in the Dallas White Rock Marathon. 

 



His hope is to one day represent the United States of America in the Olympics or Paralympics, as well as to run a marathon, and complete a triathlon. 

This is just a little of Cody's amazing story. There is so much more to it. It continues on a regular basis with the family having to endure multiple doctor's appointments and treatments to make Cody as independent as possible. Through it all, Cody remains an amazing spirit!

Have you ever seen a more beautiful smile than this one?

The next time you're in a bad mood .... maybe you need to remember this one. 

Your attitude toward life defines not only who you are, but the quality of life you will have. 

Whatever is bugging you today, doesn't seem so bad anymore, does it? 

50 INTERESTING FACTS

1. The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.


2. Beetles taste like apples, wasps like pine nuts, and worms like fried bacon.


3. Of all the words in the English language, the word 'set' has the most definitions!


4. "Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.


6. "Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel.


7. In 1386, a pig in France was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child


8. A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off!


9. Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.


10. You can't kill yourself by holding your breath


11. There is a city called Rome on every continent.


12. It's against the law to have a pet dog in Iceland!


13. Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day!


14. Horatio Nelson, one of England's most illustrious admirals was throughout his life, never able to find a cure for his sea-sickness.


15. The skeleton of Jeremy Bentham is present at all important meetings of the University of London


16. Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people


17. Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, everytime you breathe!


18. The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump!


19. One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet!


20. Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different!


21. The first known transfusion of blood was performed as early as 1667, when Jean-Baptiste, transfused two pints of blood from a sheep to a young man


22. Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails! Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin!


23. The present population of 5 billion plus people of the world is predicted to become 15 billion by 2080.


24. A Women blink nearly twice as much as men.


25. Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian, and had only ONE testicle.


26. Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.


27. Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."


28. Coca-Cola would be green if colouring weren't added to it.


29. On average a hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute.


30. More people are killed each year from bees than from snakes.


31. The average lead pencil will draw a line 35 miles long or write approximately 50,000 English words.


32. More people are allergic to cow's milk than any other food.


33. Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.


34. The placement of a donkey's eyes in its' heads enables it to see all four feet at all times!


35. The six official languages of the United Nations are: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.


36. Earth is the only planet not named after a god.


37. It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a church in Nebraska, USA.


38. You're born with 300 bones, but by the time you become an adult, you only have 206.


39. Some worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food!


40. Dolphins sleep with one eye open!


41. It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.


42. The worlds oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old!


43. The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds


44. Queen Elizabeth I regarded herself as a paragon of cleanliness. She declared that she bathed once every three months, whether she needed it or not.


45. Slugs have 4 noses.


46. Owls are the only birds who can see the color blue.


47. A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 69 years!


48. A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue!


49. The average person laughs 10 times a day!


50. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.


Source:http://www.funfunky.com

Driving and aging

Below mentioned input is reproduced from an article, published by British Columbia Automobile Association.  =================================================================================   Driving is a complex, fast-paced activity. A typical driver makes 25 decisions per kilometer.  Aging affects all 3 steps in the driving process: sensing, deciding and acting. 1. Sensing:  Good eyesight is essential for safe driving. You receive 85-90% of the information needed to drive through your eyes. One of the most common changes you will notice is with your vision. Here are some facts about aging and the eyes: ·         You need more light to see ·         At age 45 you require 4 times as much light as when you were 19 ·         At age 60 you require 10 times as much ·         When looking from the speedometer to the road ahead: ·         It takes a younger driver about 2 seconds to focus ·         A driver over 40 takes 3 seconds or more ·         Your eyes become more sensitive to glare: ·         At age 55 it takes 8 times longer to recover from glare than at age 16 ·         Your ability to see the difference between colours decreases ·         It could take you twice as long to see brake lights flash on as when you were younger ·         Your peripheral vision or ability to see what’s happening to the sides, decreases ·         It might take you longer to see the cyclist coming up beside your car As you age the chance of having one of these visual conditions increases: ·         Cataracts ·         Muscular degeneration ·         Glaucoma ·         Your ability to focus slows down ·         Your depth perception or judging the distance between you and an object, decreases ·         You might have difficulty judging when it is safe to make a left turn ·         But there are some simple steps you can take to help minimize the effect aging eyes can have on driving: ·         Get regular eye exams ·         Limit your driving to daytime hours ·         Keep healthy and fit ·         Keep headlights, mirrors, and wind-shields clean Hearing Hearing loss can affect your ability to hear sounds such as sirens and horns. If hearing loss is found early you can be helped through treatment, such as hearing aids and surgery. 2. Deciding:  Once your eyes and ears take in information, it’s up to your brain to process it and decide what to do. Age increases the time it takes the brain to process information and makes it harder to ignore distractions. For many people, experience and good driving habits can compensate for these changes. Here are a few things you can do: ·         Keep a safe distance behind the car in front of you ·         Choose a route that avoids difficult turns ·         Focus on driving: avoid distractions such as cell phones ·         Plan your route ahead of time 3. Acting:  As you age it takes longer to perform physical activities due to: ·         Weaker muscles ·         Reduced flexibility ·         Conditions such as arthritis ·         Effects of medication  TAKE CARE AND HAVE  SAFE DRIVING !!!.

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