Corbin Ty Burress was welcomed into this family six weeks early and weighed 3 pounds, 5 1/2 ounces. He actually fit in a cigarbox! After spending 12 days in the NIC unit At Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria, he was sent home with a clean bill of health.
As he grew, his family noticed that his right side wasn’t as strong or active as his left side. Corbin was evaluated at Easter Seals in Ottawa, Illinois and began occupational therapy, physical therapy, and developmental therapy. He attended preschool at the Easter Seals center. The staff worked with him and before too long they had him actually taking steps! Corbin was the Little Ambassador for the Easter Seals 2008 Telethon and the 5K Walk with Me event. After “army crawling” to get around, Corbin started walking when he was three. For the next five years, he received several forms of therapy in Naperville, along with weekly instructions in Villa Park to learn how to use a special communicator. Along with therapy, he went to preschool at Lincoln School in Ottawa and attended McKinley School for kindergarten through fourth grade. Corbin is currently in seventh grade at Central School. He is looking forward to going to Ottawa High School sooner than his family will be ready for him to go!
Corbin enjoys hanging out with friends especially the special ones that he has made through Project Unified at his school. Everywhere he goes someone yells,“Hi, Corbin!” Playing video games and using the iPad is how He spends his time at home. Corbin has participated in the 50 yard dash and the softball toss for Special Olympics during the last four years, and has made it to the state finals every year. This past summer he was in the Challenger baseball league team and loved playing ball, just like his favorite team, the Chicago White Sox!
Along his journey, Corbin has made so many friends and personal superheroes who have made his obstacles and challenges so much more manageable. His entire family is grateful for everyone who has helped Corbin on his journey. They are so proud of him and they love him dearly. They are eager to see what life hands Corbin next, and feel that Corbin will be able to conquer any obstacle without losing his big smile! Corbin’s family and us here at SRCCF have partnered up to be able to create the Corbin Burress Superhero Fund. This fund will benefit those who have confronted similar obstacles in life that Corbin has. With your donations, we can help more and more people who truly need it! We have high hopes for the Corbin Burress Superhero Fund and cannot wait to see what our journey with Corbin and his family has in store.
