The budding neuroscientist and poet with cerebral palsy who wants to become a doctor

When Jerusha was a child with cerebral palsy, doctors told her parents she would never walk or talk.

But now aged 25, she’s hoping to become a doctor herself and help others with disabilities.

Jerusha has some challenges — her speech can sometimes be slurred, her arms and legs can make involuntary movements, she can have difficulty walking on uneven ground, and gets tired easily.

Yet she’s doing a PhD in neuroscience and has already been named one of the Australian Academy of Science’s STEM Women Changemakers.

And she’s just published her first book of poetry in which she writes:

Poetry is my swelled body that
spills out words of ransom
the warrior ocean of my flesh
The mercy from my spirit
The hidden, free truth
The speechless utterances of…