A movie about the life of Christy Brown.
The movie, "My Left Foot", was a story about the life of a genius and his Catholic family in Dublin Ireland. Christy Brown was born on June 25, 1932. He was one of twenty-two births, where only thirteen children survived. Christy's father was a bricklayer and his mom was a homemaker.
Christy's family always knew that there was something wrong with him. He just was not like the other kids in the house. It wasn't until his 18th birthday that he was diagnosed with the disease Cerebral Palsy. This disease limited movement in all of his extremities, which made it impossible to walk, and even sit up without help. Luckily, Christy had a very supportive and caring family, who often took turns caring for him.
Christy's family often faced many barriers. Being poor, they often did without the bare necessities such as coal for heating purposes. Money was so tight that the family could not afford a wheelchair for Christy. They hauled him around in a wheel-barrel. On top of all of that, the family had to deal with Mr. Brown's alcoholism and abusive language. For example, Mr. Brown became so outraged when he found out that his daughter had become pregnant. His behavior upset the family, especially Christy who loved and respected his sister dearly.
Christy often faced other challenges as well. He had to deal with the unfair treatment that he received from others as well as his father, who at first was ashamed of him. Everyday, Christy lie on the floor and watched while the other children went to school. He soon grew tired of it and decided to show everyone that he too could learn. One evening, while lying on the floor, Christy began writing letters on the chalkboard beside him. The family was so amazed! The amazement was that he wrote these letters using his left foot! From that day forward, the Brown's knew that he was capable of learning. It did not stop there soon after Christy began painting lovely pictures Christy began receiving help from a speech therapist named Elaine, who besides his mom was one of his biggest supporters.
