Francine Catterton is stubborn.

And it’s that stubbornness that she attributes to the many accomplishments she has achieved, including her most recent accomplishment: receiving the 2006 WellFit Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to one CCSD licensed employee each year who completes the Health Trust’s WellFit 10–week cardiovascular program while living with a serious medical condition.

But this award isn’t the only proof that Catterton is living a full life.

By age 37, Catterton has competed in the Special Olympics and the ParaOlympics, has earned the world record for running with crutches, is a world class tennis player, having placed in her division at the 1995 U.S. Open, and has now ended her ninth year as a teacher and her second year as a Special Education teacher at Frank Kim Elementary School.

Still, the struggle to realize such achievements has been an uphill battle.

As an infant, Catterton was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, a disability that affects muscle coordination and body movement and caused her to have eight surgeries on her legs alone before the age of ten. However, her disability did not keep Catterton from leading a life like any other child.

"I loved sports, so when [my brothers and sisters] played, I played," she said. “The sooner you treat a disability, the less of a disability it will be.”

However, as a freshman in college, Catterton was quickly faced with another lifelong challenge when, tragically, she was hit by a shuttle bus as she walked on the sidewalk.

Since then, Catterton has faced the long road to recovery from an injury that doctors say should have killed her. Instead, though, she believes it has only made her stronger.

“It was a reality check,” Catterton explained. “I learned to take less things for granted.”

Catterton also believes the stubbornness and “no quit attitude” she developed as a child played an important role in her survival. And it is that message she hopes to convey everyday to her classes.

“My family was always very supportive,” she said. “My strength came from being treated the same, and that is how I treat my students.”

Having been a child with a disability, Catterton understands the difficulties that many other children with disabilities face. Her desire to “give back” to the community through her own experience is what helped her choose education as a career.

In fact, Catterton believes it is important to allow her students to help her in the classroom because she believes it is the best way to learn.

“Everyone has special needs in some way,” she said. “They are learning by example.”

Since moving to Nevada, Catterton has seen significant improvement in her mobility, less spasticity in her muscles, and an overall improvement in her health. With the help of her manual wheelchair, crutches, scooter and car with hand controls, Catterton is able to live a totally independent life. She stays active by participating in therapeutic horseback riding once a week and chose the WellFit program as means of motivation.

And although Catterton has her good and bad days, she believes that doing something everyday, whether it be bowling in the teachers’ league or clocking her daily steps with a pedometer, is small but beneficial progress.

“I wanted to motivated myself, make myself stronger,” she said. “It is a step in the right direction.”

Misti R. Brock, Publication Specialist
Teachers Health Trust

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