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Mila has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair and despite her disability she is a strong girl and pushes on. She works hard to complete her therapies and work to a healthy lifestyle.
Mila has a big smile and a shiny red wheelchair. She is five years old and very strong. Today is a special day at school!
Fluorescent lights brighten the wide school hallway lined with colorful cubbies. Mila speeds in her red wheelchair beside Sam, both laughing as they race toward the classroom door.
"Let's race to the door!" calls her friend Sam. Mila pushes her wheels fast. "I win!" she laughs happily.
Sunlight from large windows fills the art classroom, illuminating paint-splattered tables. Mila concentrates, holding a brush toward a paper showing a big yellow sun, with paint jars and a water cup beside her.
In art class, Mila holds her paintbrush carefully. She paints a big yellow sun. "Look at my picture!" she says proudly.
Warm afternoon light filters through the classroom windows onto desks arranged in rows. Mila, smiling in her wheelchair, balances a wicker snack basket on her lap while handing crackers to cheerful classmates.
"I can help pass out snacks," Mila tells her teacher. She carries the basket on her lap. Everyone says thank you to Mila.
Under a bright blue afternoon sky, the school playground bustles beside a wooden ramp. Mila descends the ramp with arms raised, grinning, as Sam and other friends clap at the ramp’s base.
At the playground, Mila goes down the ramp. "Wheee!" she shouts with joy. Her friends clap and cheer for her.
Soft ceiling lights glow in the classroom reading corner, where a rug and low bookshelf sit. Mila rolls into the circle of seated classmates, eyes wide and smiling as Teacher opens a colorful adventure book.
The class sits in a circle for story time. Mila rolls right into her spot. She loves listening to adventure books.
Bright overhead spotlights shine on the school music room filled with drums and xylophones. Mila shakes a shimmering tambourine above her head, laughing, while Teacher claps time beside a keyboard.
"Shake the tambourine!" says the music teacher. Mila shakes it with both hands. The music makes everyone dance and smile.
Late-morning sun casts stripes across the classroom floor. Mila leans from her wheelchair, picking scattered crayons while Sam kneels opposite her, both smiling amid colorful crayon wrappers.
Sam drops his crayons on the floor. "I'll help you!" says Mila kindly. She picks them up one by one.
Fluorescent lights brighten the activity table covered with wooden blocks. Mila, focused, stacks a tower taller than her head, steadying it with strong hands while Sam watches in awe.
Mila stacks blocks very high on her table. "My tower is so tall!" she says. She uses her strong hands carefully.
Midday light pours through open blinds across the spacious classroom center. Mila spins her red wheelchair in a tight circle, grinning at applauding Teacher and Sam.
"Today Mila will show us something special," says Teacher. Mila spins her wheelchair in a circle. Everyone claps for her trick!
Recess sunlight bathes the school playground near the slide. Mila smiles, inviting a new student with short brown hair and green backpack to join Sam in tossing a red ball.
A new student looks shy and sad. "Come play with us!" Mila says warmly. Soon they are playing together happily.
Soft afternoon light shines on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. Teacher kneels beside Mila’s wheelchair, smiling proudly, while Mila beams back, flexing one arm in playful strength.
"You are very strong, Mila," says Teacher. Mila smiles big and says, "I am strong like me!" She knows she can do anything.