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Kelly Robert Lyon is a young man from Colorado with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. 
Kelly was born 10 weeks premature at 30 weeks gestational age and weighed only 3.5 lbs.
Sadly, Kelly's identical twin, Casey, who weighed 3 lbs. died when they were only 4 days old.

Kelly had a Grade II brain hemorrhage from the force of the ventilator just a couple of hours after birth. This resulted in brain damage known as paraventicular leukomalcia, which is what caused Kelly's cerebral palsy.  Cerebral Palsy has a high rate of mental retardation associated with it, but Kelly has an IQ of 85 and is very smart - (and he can also be a smart alec).

Kelly was not supposed to live, but his will for survival has brought him through many serious illnesses and orthopaedic surgeries throughout his life.  Most recently, Kelly had major spine surgery. Kelly has been confined to a wheelchair, but has always accomplished finding his own way to do most everything that everyone else does.  You cannot tell Kelly that he cannot do something.

Kelly received a 1st Place youth bowling league trophy from Sam's Town in Las Vegas. Using a ramp stand, and significantly disadvantaged in terms of his ability to control the ball, Kelly was able to take 1st place for the league's season out of more than 30 children.

"My mom took me everywhere when I was little. Everywhere I would go, I would learn things. My parents fought to get me into a normal school so that I could be like everyone else. The segregated handicap school would take me on field trips to the grocery store -- really -- like what was so educational about that when my mom took me there all the time?  Mostly I got to play all day and take trips out in the community.  My mom kept asking how come they were not teaching me colors or numbers and stuff.  They told her that it was because I could not copy a block pattern. My hands did not work very good and I probably would have never been able to set up the blocks like they wanted.  They were not teaching me anything because I was in a wheelchair." 

Once Kelly attended normal school, Kelly was a sponge.  It was amazing what he could grasp when someone would actually teach him.  The desire to get Kelly the best education possible is what prompted Kelly's parents to move from Colorado to Las Vegas.  Kelly went up two grade levels of math in his first year in Nevada.  Kelly even took part in a pilot program of UNLV that was developing alternative strategies to teach Algebra.  Kelly sang in the school choir. Kelly really enjoyed school, but then when he was 16 years old his health drastically failed.

Kelly was diagnosed with diabetes.  Later, it would be learned that his spine had fallen apart and had twisted some of his organs in the process.  His pancreas was twisted and this is what was causing the diabetes.  A doctor at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas said Kelly was terminal.  Failing to accept this, Kelly's mother brought Kelly back to The Children's Hospital in Denver for a second opinion.  A multi-disciplinary team at TCH-Denver felt that there was a good chance that Kelly's life could be saved by simply straightening out his spine.  In theory, there was a good chance his organs would just pop back into place and start to function normally.

It took having Kelly and his mom in Denver for four months and it brought Kelly's family to the brink of financial ruin, but Kelly is alive!  It was a grueling surgery for Kelly.  The recovery period was complicated by the fact that insurance did not want to pay for his physical therapy. Kelly was in so much pain that he did not even want to get out of bed.  He knew that if he got out of bed, the pain would be bad enough that he would need a pain pill, and then he would end up sleeping away the day. Kelly got to the point where all he wanted to do was lie in bed and watch television. 

A year after returning home, Kelly was wasting away and dying. Kelly had dropped down to 51 pounds and he needed nursing care to get him back on track if he was going to survive.  The hardest part for Kelly's mom was that Kelly was just not interested in getting out of bed and living life to its fullest anymore. It had gotten to the point where things had to change or Kelly would die.  Kelly's mother was willing to do whatever it would take for her son.
 
With the help of some awesome pilots who volunteered their services through Angel Flight West, Kelly was moved back to Colorado to get the help he needed.  

All recovered and with a functioning pancreas again, Kelly is back to living life.  He experiences pain when he is in his wheelchair too long, but you never hear Kelly complain.  Here is a young man who always has a smile on his face.  He is a very thoughtful and caring young man.  Kelly has been described as "the definition of perseverance and motivation".  Inspiration is another word that comes to mind.  Here is a young man who decided it would be fun to record shows with his friends to discuss topics of current events, sports, and anything else that comes to mind.  But as amazing as that is, here is a young man who found a way to use the Internet and achieve his vision. (With a little help from his friends!)

"I hope you enjoy my shows.  I really like to share with people."  Kelly            

Imaging for Kelly & Friends by a great set of pipes...Ron Peterson's Voice 
Production music licensed through LIVE365