Oklahoma City native fighting illness one step at a time

Despite doctors doubting she would ever be able to walk or talk, an 18-year-old Oklahoma City native has won three world championships in martial arts.

Lauren Morrison was born with cerebral palsy and severe asthma, but she managed to beat the odds and even earned a black belt in karate.

Morrison wasn’t given much of a chance to become active, but she refused to accept that fate. With the help of her mother, Cherry, and older brother, Raymon, 21, Lauren learned at an early age that determination and hard work were the only way she could accomplish her goals.

"Through school, martial arts, cheerleading, dance, she’s never gone the easy route,” Cherry Morrison said. "I’ve always known that she was a very determined young lady, so I knew I had to be a determined parent to help her get through what she was going through.”

Lauren wore ankle-foot orthoses — think Forrest Gump’s leg braces, Cherry Morrison said — and slings for her arms to train her extremities to move the right way. But even as a 3-year-old, Lauren Morrison found ways to turn the corrective slings into slingshots, and she would often take off the foot braces so she could walk in shoes.

By the time she was old enough for elementary school, Lauren Morrison didn’t need the braces or slings anymore.

At age 5, she took up karate. Her family said it was what she learned from karate that has helped mold her into the person she is today.

"She’s learned to focus on a lot more things, accomplish a certain goal, and she’s gotten to where she is now as a black belt,” Raymon Morrison said.

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