Jamie Edwards doesn’t have a custom hot rod to enter in the Southern Oregon Rod & Custom Show. She isn’t associated with anybody who does, and in fact, she doesn’t even have a driver’s license.
But you could say the 10-year-old Grants Pass resident is the star of the show.
Jamie, who turns 11 in April, has had cerebral palsy since birth. The Rod & Custom Show is a fundraiser put on in her honor, and for other local kids who receive needed medical assistance from Oregon Health Science University’s Child Development and Rehabilitation Center (CDRC). In 27 years of sponsoring the event, the Rogue Valley Street Rods has raised $262,000 for charity, over $257,000 of which has gone directly to the CDRC for things like wheelchairs, computers and conversions of vans for wheelchair lifts.
For Jamie, she has received a set of $3000 orthotics that support her foot and ankle and provide a way to keep the muscle on the back of her ankle active and alive. Jamie has also had a number of operations, including radical leg surgery, eye surgery, implantations, and three pumps inserted to help relax the muscles. The CDRC sees her as a patient, gives follow-up care, and provides direction based on her special needs.
“They help her get things that we can’t provide for ourselves – like wheelchairs,” says her dad, Rich Edwards. “They’re wonderful. The doctors come and see how she’s doing with her walking, and are basically involved in the whole process. They see her two to three times a year. They have been a tremendous help to us.”
At the age of one, Jamie’s mom, Barbara Edwards, realized something wasn’t right with her daughter. She had severe stiffness, and it was diagnosed as cerebral palsy. The family received assistance through the Oregon Health Plan.
“From that point on, we discovered there was a lot of help in the community,” Rich says. “She’s got a lot of love and support at home and in the community. From birth, we noticed Jamie is a real spitfire. She has a real fighting spirit in her. Most kids in her condition tend to be sensitive, but she’s upbeat most of the time.”
Jamie is the youngest of five siblings. While her three brothers and sister have all provided a lot of help, her 14-year-old brother Ben has especially taken it upon himself to help out his younger sister.
“Through family and community support, and the assistance we’ve received from CDRC, Jamie’s now able to walk better in her walker and she doesn’t use her wheelchair any more. That’s given her hope and makes her work even harder
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