17-year-old doesn’t let cerebral palsy keep him from enjoying life

RENO -- Connor Fogal has cerebral palsy. But he might be the true Renaissance man. The 17-year-old Reno resident paints, climbs, bikes, skis, writes, travels, laughs and loves.

Fogal is a believer in a promising future, supported by a cadre of players from parents to teachers.

"I tell people I just try to do what people do, just differently," Fogal said at Marvin Picollo Special Education School.

Fogal, who uses a wheelchair and has limited use of his arms, has had cerebral palsy since birth.

"I was at the hospital the day he was born to learn to tube-feed him as a foster placement," said his mother, Theresa Fogal. "My husband and I were foster parents for critical-care babies, mostly drug-affected."

Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that affects body movement and muscle coordination, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

While Connor Fogal has cerebral palsy, he has a lot more of something else. And that's personality.

"What'd you say the other day (about painting landscapes)? That if you mess them up, they're easier to fix," his mom said to him.

His smile is charming, his humor ironic and his spirit magnetic.

"I believe that God gave him the talent to paint and the personality he has so he could teach others about tolerance and acceptance," Theresa Fogal said.

The teen started painting five years ago with encouragement from Marvin Picollo teacher Dave Noury. Connor Fogal used a paint-by-section method that allowed for mistakes to be made and work to continue. Over the years, he has honed his skills and advanced in his painting methods. While most people use their hands, Fogal uses a brush attached to his head with special equipment.

"It took training," his mother said. "He had lots of hours making mistakes."

He is long familiar with adaptive equipment. It is the specially modified equipment that makes possible much of the adventure he has experienced, such as water skiing, fishing, camping and, once, sky diving.

"He is really receptive to trying a lot of different things," said his teacher John Oldenberg.

It takes Connor Fogal one to two weeks to complete a painting; it once took five to six. He paints originals and replicas of masters, including Monet and Van Gogh. He signs his work in the lower-right hand corner.

He gave away paintings for Christmas gifts before deciding to sell them to buy adaptive equipment.

With artworks he has sold, the teen has purchased an adaptive bi-ski -- he skis at Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe -- and recently bought an adaptive bike. He still is figuring out how to use it.

"He wants to show other people just because they are handicapped, they can still do things," his mother said. "He does more things than most two-legged people do."

Connor Fogal's paintings cost between $25 to $50. He has been commissioned at least once to do a work, and he recently displayed his art at East of West Art Gallery in Reno, selling three prints.

"The gallery has extended an invitation to him to keep his art on display," Theresa Fogal said. "So, he will continue with four prints on display there."

The teen expects to finish at Marvin Picollo Special Education School this year and wants to continue at the University of Nevada, Reno, in an adjusted program in arts and computers.

He uses a computer keyboard in much the same way he paints, with adaptive equipment attached to his head.

"I would like to find a computer job," Fogal said. He made up business cards and designed his own art-filled website at www.connorcreations.com.