Ore. — A high school student in Oregon is getting ready to compete at the national speech and debate finals and she’s doing it all with cerebral palsy.
The condition affects Mikayla Heston’s speech and muscles, but it’s certainly not stopping her.
She uses a computer to help her speak and she got second place at a qualifying tournament Sunday, March 22nd, which moved her on to the finals.
Her father got teary eyed remembering the day she was born, Michael Heston, father, “When she was born, she wasn’t there and they had to save her life, so, you just want her to be happy.”
Mikayla, “I’m just grateful to be alive and here to tell people it’s ok to be different.”
Mikayla says she wants to be a biomedical engineer one day, so she can help design better wheelchairs.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.