Man With Cerebral Palsy to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro

Doctors told Bonner Paddock when he was 11 years old that he would be dead by age 20. Paddock has never been one to believe in limitations, and now at 32, he's planning something big: climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.

Bonner Paddock was born with cerebral palsy. Originally doctors believed he had a rare form of spinal cyst and that it would prove to be fatal, but they were wrong. Once he learned that he had cerebral palsy and that he wasn't going to get worse, Paddock learned to overcome his limp and spastic gait enough to play sports. He was a pinch hitter in baseball, a goalkeeper in soccer and a 3-point virtuoso in basketball.

Paddock is now planning to hike up Kilimanjaro and in doing so raise $250,000 for United Cerebral Palsy's Early Childhood Learning Center. He trains 5 days a week for two hours a day and hikes for 10 miles for another two days a week. All of this is in preparation for the trek he plans on making later this year.

Bonner Paddock has cerebral palsy as the result of oxygen deprivation at birth. His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, causing severe brain damage Growing up, Bonner saw quite a few doctors who all suggested different treatments and therapies. "I felt like a lab rat," Paddock said. Now Paddock is on a mission to prove just what people with cerebral palsy are capable of. To read more about Bonner Paddock, click "here.