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Archy is a turtle, but, as you can see, he's not just any turtle. Archy joined the CMTA in April of 2009, when he became the mascot for the kids' page. Since then, he's been working really hard to help make it easier for kids to understand CMT, and also to give parents some ideas when they talk to their kids about CMT.
You can use these links to read more Adventures of Archy:
Archy Gets a Diagnosis
Archy Visits the Orthotist
Archy at the Zoo
And, if you have a question for Archy, you can email it to him at archy@charcot-marie-tooth.org.
P.S. It's okay for parents to write to Archy, too, with comments or story suggestions.
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My best friend in first grade is probably Timmy (he’s a turtle, too, so we have a lot in common), but I am also really good friends with several other first graders, among them Bruce beaver who is a fabulous Lego builder. We have lots of fun making pretend villages and big trucks and airplanes. He has an older sister just like I do. Her name is Becky and she’s the subject of this day’s adventure.
Apparently, Becky had to have some work done on her teeth and she came back to school with braces. That made her the immediate talk of the fourth-grade classroom and the object of several unkind comments. Some of the rougher classmates, notably Samuel Skunk and Richard Raccoon, were teasing her in a very mean-spirited way about how she looked with the metal braces on her teeth. At one point, she broke down and cried because she was already embarrassed about the braces and the teasing just made things worse.
I happened to come upon them all out in the woods where we play during lunch break. Since I have recently gotten leg braces of my own, which I have kept hidden under my pants, I knew exactly how she felt. I had gone to great lengths to avoid having anyone other than my best friends know that I had gotten AFOs, or braces, to help me walk. Still, seeing her crying made me rethink my secrecy.
I walked up to Sammy and Ricky and said, “There’s nothing wrong with braces. See, I have some on my legs to help me walk. Becky has them on her teeth to help straighten them. All kids have something they need help with and braces are just a way to get help. “If I remember correctly, you needed help with your school work, Sammy. You had a tutor. She was like a brace for you—supporting you until you understood the math problems better.”
“Uh, well, yeah. I guess that’s true,” Sammy said. A few others in the crowd chimed in with comments about how Ricky had needed help with his school work, too. In fact, kids all started mentioning things that they needed help with: Someone mentioned training wheels on bikes and before long, no one even remembered that Becky had gotten new braces on her teeth. Some of the boys did notice my new braces, but they were admiring the cool camouflage coloring and weren’t teasing me at all.
When class started again after lunch, Bruce thanked me for defending his sister. Our teacher went so far as to say I was a hero for standing up to the older boys, but I think that’s going too far. I really just could “feel” Becky’s embarrassment, too, and I wanted to put a stop to it—for her and for me—and apparently I did. What a good day this turned out to be!
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