The first thing you notice about 8-year-old Katie Hull of Los Alamitos is her warm, friendly smile that shines like a beacon of self-confidence and gentle reassurance.
She has snowy, yellow blond hair that falls amid her dimpled cheeks, revealing eyes that seem to look into your soul with an intensity and kindness far beyond her tender years.
The next thing you may notice is that Katie sits in a wheelchair. She was born with spina bifida, which resulted in her feet being paralyzed along with partial paralysis of her legs.
Spina bifida is a birth defect that involves the incomplete development of the spinal cord or its coverings. The term spina bifida comes from Latin and literally means “split” or “open” spine.
Spina bifida occurs at the end of the first month of pregnancy when the two sides of the embryo’s spine fail to join together, leaving an open area. In some cases, the spinal cord or other membranes may push through this opening in the back. The condition usually is detected before a baby is born and treated right away.
Katie doesn’t seem to mind. She seems to know we all have handicaps; hers are just easier to see.
And yet, she is still able to do so much that should shame the healthy but lazy souls among us. Katie uses her wheelchair to participate in many activities including wheelchair basketball and wheelchair races. She raced in her first 5K and finished with a respectable time. In addition to swimming, she also enjoys art and sewing class.
Like a lot of folks, young and old, she loves Disneyland, where her favorite ride is Splash Mountain. Katie is the oldest child in her family and has one brother and one sister. Katie enjoys school and gets good grades. For the past two years at school she has helped to put on assemblies about disability awareness.
She is a charming young person and others seem to agree. In fact the Ms. Wheelchair Foundation recently named her Little Miss Wheelchair 2012.
“Katie is thrilled about the opportunity to be Little Miss Wheelchair 2012 and considers it a great honor,” according to her mom, Sarah Hull. “She is a friend to all and enjoys meeting new people.”
The Ms. Wheelchair California Foundation was created with the mission of breaking attitudinal barriers toward those with disabilities and to build disability awareness in the community.
Sarah Hull is doing her part to help the cause with her Little Penelope Lane enterprise. It is a brand of hand-crafted hair bows and accessories which can be found online and in local boutiques.
When Katie was younger, her mother put decorative bows that she hand-crafted in Katie’s hair. The bows, along with Katie’s infectious smile, seemed to make the fact that she used a wheelchair and walker less noticeable. Sarah Hull continued the tradition of bow-making for her second daughter, and has developed her hobby into a business with a goal of making hair accessories, which both moms and daughters can enjoy together.
Little Penelope Lane and the Hyatt Regency (located at 200 South Pine Ave., Long Beach) will host a hand-craft boutique from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 21. One hundred percent of the booth fees for will be donated to the Ms. Wheelchair California Foundation. Fifty artisans from Southern California will be selling a variety of hand-crafted products at the boutique including summer décor, jewelry, apparel for adults, children, and infants, purses, accessories, art, paper goods, and more. Entrance to the boutique is free. Parking at the Hyatt for the boutique will be $3.
The Hyatt Regency Long Beach has donated the space for the fundraiser.
Katie was crowned Little Miss Wheelchair California, 2012, along side Long Beach native, Mary Zendejas, who was crowned Ms. Wheelchair California, 2012. Throughout their reigns, Mary speaks at numerous events on behalf of the disabled community, and Katie provides role modeling and support for children who have disabilities.
In August of this year, Mary, a CSULB graduate and founder of the DisABLED Professionals Association, will travel to Providence, Rhode Island to compete for the Ms. Wheelchair America title.
For more information on Little Penelope Lane please visit: http://littlepenelopelane.blogspot.com.
For more on the Ms. Wheelchair Foundation, visit the website at www.mswheelchaircaliforniafoundation.com.
