“We never want to limit her.” – Misu, Mazy’s mom.
Mazy is crazy about dance. When she was part of the studio audience of So You Think You Can Dance Canada! she screamed when the show’s host Leah Miller appeared suddenly on a tower on stage. For Mazy it was difficult to contain herself. After all, she was inside her most favourite TV show.
Social and a little fearless, this six-year-old has always loved music and dance, as well as speed and swinging. During the summer of 2011 she ascended into the trees on a high ropes course at a camp. After descending, she wanted to go back up right away.
Mazy has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around most of the time. Moving her legs is a big challenge, and her speech vocabulary is currently small, but she is working hard to build it.
Recently Mazy was also diagnosed with PTEN, which puts her at risk of various forms of cancer. So far the PTEN has not impacted Mazy, who is now in grade one at Bloorview School Authority and making great gains through the school’s Integrated Educational Therapy program.
In addition to learning her school lessons, which nurture her curiosity and love of learning, Mazy works with therapists to build her vocabulary, improve dexterity and, a surprise for her parents, take steps with a walker for the first time.
“I know they work on mobility at school but I figured walking wasn’t something that she was going to have very much success with,” says Misu, Mazy’s mom.
When Mazy took ten steps in her walker towards her at school, Misu was astonished. Now Mazy works on walking down the hallway and peddling on an adaptive tricycle.
While physiotherapy is Mazy’s biggest challenge, speech language therapy is her favourite subject.
“She is so social,” says Misu. “She’s such a communicator. Right now she signs, uses a communication book and is learning to use a communication device. She can speak a small number of words but more and more she’s talking. As soon as she has a new word she uses it proudly and loudly.”
In addition to ‘more’, ‘up’, ‘home’, ‘Mom’, ‘Dad’ and ‘Em’, Mazy loves to say ‘hi’ to anyone she meets, even teaching it to her baby sister, Ember.
When Mazy was in junior kindergarten, Misu discovered that Mazy has an exceptional memory. She could identify all the kids by name in her class.
“I was a grade one teacher at the time and had some kids who could not do that,” says Misu.
This memory serves her well with her great passion – dancing. Mazy is now enrolled in ballet class and loving it.
So you think you can dance? Mazy says ‘yes’!
