Raymond’s Story

Raymond is a 37-year-old married man happily residing with his wife in Silver Spring, Maryland. Raymond is down-to-earth, friendly, and caring. He was diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy at age two and anxiety and depression at 17 but does not recall a time when he did not feel anxious or depressed.   

Growing up, he had a difficult time. Six months before graduating high school, his mother passed away; shortly after, his stepmother asked him to leave home. In a crisis, he almost dropped out of school but credited his English teacher with saving his life. His English teacher would not let him quit; instead, he paid for Raymond to get to and from school. When he recalls this defining moment, he says his stepmom kicking him out was “the best thing that has ever happened to me.”    

Raymond loves music and singing; he always told his teachers he wanted to be a rock star. He was also working on his first album while he was trying to finish high school. He is also a song writer and once was offered a fee for the rights to one of his songs.  

Raymond also wrote two books, The Dark Before the Dawn and Journey of a Man. The Dark Before the Dawn is a poetry book touching on his past drug addiction and how he overcame all the obstacles in his life. The Journey of a Man is a follow-up book to his first, and “he hopes to get this into the hands of broken people in society that are looking for a spiritual outlet and connection.”    

Esther, Raymond’s Supports planner has worked with Raymond since August of 2021 and has built a strong working relationship. Esther has assisted Raymond with finding different personal assistance agencies and obtaining more personal assistance hours. One of his goals and dreams is to make his wife feel extra special. When Esther learned about this, she supported Raymond by helping connect him to needed resources like obtaining a new ID card and researching wheelchair-accessible options. Esther said, “I love working with Mr. Ray. I always have a great time at our meetings. He has told me many stories about how people tend to speak to his wife rather than him directly. I think people tend to overlook how great of an advocate he is for himself. If people just took 10 minutes to sit down and have a genuine conversation with him, many more people would realize that he is funny, caring, and amazing.” Working with Esther has allowed Raymond to receive all the services he needs to live happily in the community with his loving wife.