DeBray defies obstacles

DeBray defies obstacles

By Crystal Bonvillian
Montgomery Advertiser

March 13, 2006

Emily DeBray's life has been a roller coaster ride since the moment she was born, and she is gearing up for one of the highest peaks yet.

DeBray, 24, of Montgomery, will be in Little Rock, Ark., this summer to compete for the title of Ms. Wheelchair America 2006. The Auburn University Montgomery adjunct psychology instructor won the Alabama title in October.

Sherry DeBray said her daughter's life journey began with a harrowing birth -- three months early Emily weighed just 2 pounds, 6 ounces. Though she was born in Dothan, she had to be rushed to Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery for special neonatal care.

"She lost weight down to 1 pound and 15 ounces before she started gaining again," Sherry DeBray said. "When she was born, she was not breathing. They had to get her breathing, and when I saw her at the hospital, her little hand would not fit around my pinky."

It was during her difficult birth that Emily DeBray suffered bleeding in her brain. Six months later, her parents learned their daughter had cerebral palsy. She would never be able to walk without the assistance of a walker or a cane.

The good news was that the disease would not get worse. "It is nonprogressive," DeBray explained. "The damage was done at birth." Over the years, however, her ability to walk has deteriorated due to arthritis. Three years ago, DeBray was confined to a wheelchair.

DeBray said she has always tried to find ways to do the things that other people do, despite her disability. She enjoys snow skiing and, in high school at Alabama Christian Academy, acted in school productions.

She has taken that tenacity with her into her adult life. Besides teaching introductory psychology at AUM, she also is a family advocate for the Center for Families. DeBray earned her master's degree in psychology in August.

"I wanted a private practice at first, but now I want to teach full-time," DeBray said. "I became a graduate assistant and fell in love with working with the students. Halfway through grad school, I had my own class."

DeBray said one thing she never thought she could do was win a pageant. "I grew up watching my younger sister, Sara, in pageants and doing cheerleading, and I was her biggest fan," she said. "It was always something I wanted to do, but I didn't think it was something I could do."

DeBray is using her position as Ms. Wheelchair America-Alabama to lobby for an issue close to her heart -- accessibility for handicapped people. She said she's had several problems with people parking either in a handicapped parking space she needs, or parking on the blue-lined area where her modified van's ramp needs to extend. "I got stranded here at my apartment for two hours and could not go to work," she said. "The police couldn't ticket the person because it's private property. The officers had to lift me off of the curb in my chair and move my van back so we could extend the ramp."

DeBray said she is determined to bring the issue to the attention of law enforcement and the Legislature in an effort to have some of the laws changed.

"If you're passive about it, it won't ever change," she said.

Emily DeBray
DeBray defies obstacles By Crystal Bonvillian Montgomery Advertiser March 13, 2006 Emily DeBray's life has been a roller coaster ride since the moment she was born, and she is gearing up for one of the highest peaks yet. DeBray, 24, of Montgomery, will be in Little Rock, Ark., this summer to compete for the title of Ms. Wheelchair America 2006. The Auburn University Montgomery adjunct psychology instructor won the Alabama title in October. Sherry DeBray said her daughter's life journey began with a harrowing birth -- three months early Emily weighed just 2 pounds, 6 ounces. Though she was born in Dothan, she had to be rushed to Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery for special neonatal care. "She lost weight down to 1 pound and 15 ounces before she started gaining again," Sherry DeBray said. "When she was born, she was not breathing. They had to get her breathing, and when I saw her at the hospital, her little hand would not fit around my pinky." It was during her difficult birth that Emily DeBray suffered bleeding in her brain. Six months later, her parents learned their daughter had cerebral palsy. She would never be able to walk without the assistance of a walker or a cane. The good news was that the disease would not get worse. "It is nonprogressive," DeBray explained. "The damage was done at birth." Over the years, however, her ability to walk has deteriorated due to arthritis. Three years ago, DeBray was confined to a wheelchair. DeBray said she has always tried to find ways to do the things that other people do, despite her disability. She enjoys snow skiing and, in high school at Alabama Christian Academy, acted in school productions. She has taken that tenacity with her into her adult life. Besides teaching introductory psychology at AUM, she also is a family advocate for the Center for Families. DeBray earned her master's degree in psychology in August. "I wanted a private practice at first, but now I want to teach full-time," DeBray said. "I became a graduate assistant and fell in love with working with the students. Halfway through grad school, I had my own class." DeBray said one thing she never thought she could do was win a pageant. "I grew up watching my younger sister, Sara, in pageants and doing cheerleading, and I was her biggest fan," she said. "It was always something I wanted to do, but I didn't think it was something I could do." DeBray is using her position as Ms. Wheelchair America-Alabama to lobby for an issue close to her heart -- accessibility for handicapped people. She said she's had several problems with people parking either in a handicapped parking space she needs, or parking on the blue-lined area where her modified van's ramp needs to extend. "I got stranded here at my apartment for two hours and could not go to work," she said. "The police couldn't ticket the person because it's private property. The officers had to lift me off of the curb in my chair and move my van back so we could extend the ramp." DeBray said she is determined to bring the issue to the attention of law enforcement and the Legislature in an effort to have some of the laws changed. "If you're passive about it, it won't ever change," she said.