District 202 Mom Makes Son With Cerebral Palsy A Super Hero In New Book

All of the students at District 202’s Bonnie McBeth Learning Center are super – but one is actually a superhero.

By day, Manny Bueno is a 5-year-old with cerebral palsy whose main form of communication is an infectious smile that lights up a room. But by night he is the star of “Manny’s Mission: The Adventures of a Cerebral Palsy Superhero,” in a book written by his mom, Holly Lotz.

Lotz wrote the book in a hospital room while watching then-4-year-old Manny sleep after a major surgery.

Bueno was born with severe cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He cannot talk or walk and needs full-time care.

However, in “Manny’s Mission,” he uses his super powers of positivity and imagination to create a world where he can run with his friends, eat pancakes with sticky syrup and tell him his mom “I love you,” every night.

Lotz wrote the book so Manny could see himself as a main character and to show her daughters that anything is possible if you set your mind to it and work hard.

“Manny loves the attention and loves when I read the book to him,” Lotz said.

Lotz recently read “Manny’s Mission” at Bonnie McBeth Learning Center and encouraged the students to ask questions about Manny, his wheelchair or other equipment he needs to survive.

The book is designed to break down barriers between those with disabilities and those without by encouraging people to focus on their similarities rather than their differences.

Lotz plans to turn “Manny’s Mission” into a series.

“The second book will be about the importance of understanding that just because a child with special needs cannot speak, it does not mean they cannot hear and understand,” she said.

Lotz’s reading tour also included Ridge Elementary School and Aux Sable Middle School. She sells her book to the schools and donates some of the money to the schools.

For information on the book or Manny’s journey, visit www.facebook.com/healingsupermanny or http://healingsupermanny.com/.

Submitted by District 202

Top photo: Holly Lotz and her son Manny Bueno take a selfie after Lotz read the book inspired by Manny, “Manny’s Mission: The Adventures of a Cerebral Palsy Superhero” to students at Bonnie McBeth Learning Center on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.