CEREBRAL palsy may have stripped her of her mobility, but Liz Hulme is a picture of positivity.

The 22-year-old, of Abbey Green Road, Leek, was born with the condition which causes physical disability and has made her diplegic and almost completely reliant on her wheelchair.

But, as far as she is concerned, life is not too bad at all.

"I have a slight weakness in my arm," she says, "but even so, I can drive, cook and take care of myself around the house.

"Some sufferers are much worse than me, and, in fairness, I'm quite capable."

While there's nothing to stop Liz living alone, she lives with her parents June, aged 53, and ground maintenance worker Phil, aged 58.

The couple were first told of Liz's condition when she was aged 13 months, but June says it never frightened them.

"The hardest thing for me was remembering what it was called," says June, who works at Horton Lodge Special School.

"Liz was premature, but it was only when she got older we realised something wasn't right.

"She has an older brother, Will, now aged 26, who is able-bodied and of course you compare the two.

"When she wasn't doing the things she should have been doing at that age, we knew there was something wrong, but when we were told what it was we just had to get on with it."

The most difficult time for Liz came not from adjusting to her condition, but the reaction of other children towards her once she went to high school.

"I was bullied quite badly and would use my wheelchair as protection, because I felt safer in it than on sticks," she says.

"If I was using my sticks they would kick them from under me and when I was in my chair they would leave staples and drawing pins in my way, so I'd run over them and burst my tyres."

With hindsight, Liz puts such malicious acts down to a lack of understanding and the fact she stood out as different, as one of only a handful of children with disabilities at the mainstream school.

"I don't think they bullied me because I was in a chair or on sticks, but because they saw something different," she explains.

"When I was at school there wasn't much integration between disabled and able-bodied children, in fact I think I was one of the first.

"They hadn't experienced it before and if you couple that with that age group, then you're going to have a few problems."

The situation was also difficult for Liz's parents, who had to cope with the emotional strains being bullied had on their child.

June says: "I found it hard, because at the same time she was going through a lot of surgery, so she was having time off school, which meant she fell behind.

"It was hard for me as her mum to know she was having a rough time, but what can you do?"

So far, Liz has had to undergo about nine operations in 10 years to help cope with her condition, and currently has a pump which carries medication to her spine.

She explains: "When you have cerebral palsy you have uncontrollable muscle spasms, which they treat with relaxation drugs. I had side effects to these, so they decided to fit the pump and it feeds the drug all day and through the night, but it's not too bad."

While Liz has always battled to overcome any hurdles in her life, it became even more of a challenge six months ago when she was diagnosed with ulcerated colitus which has stopped her being as active as she would like.

"It's an inflammatory bowel disease that's very similar to Crohn's disease, but in no way related to my cerebral palsy," she explains. "I always had trouble with my stomach, but originally they thought it was irritable bowel syndrome.

"I'm on a lot of medication now and it's still not right, but once they've found the right level, I should be able to deal with it without having surgery."

Such ordeals would make many young people crumble, but both Liz and June have managed to turn such negative experiences into a positive, using their knowledge and understanding to become foster parents for other youngsters with disabilities.

"I used to watch programmes like GMTV and when stories about fostering came up I always thought I wanted to do it," says June, "but with having children of our own and with Liz's disability, the right time didn't come until recently.

"Once the kids had grown up, fostering seemed like a natural progression, and helping children with disabilities such as Liz's seemed the perfect option for us, because Liz could really get involved as well."

So far, the family have fostered a young boy with cerebral palsy and are currently looking after a girl who is quadriplegic.

June says: "Although I do most of the physical caring, Liz and Phil are both very involved.

"One of the hardest parts is the training and all the paperwork that goes with it, but this is something that Liz is very good at.

"It's very rewarding to look after a child and nurture it and I think our experience means we have a lot to offer and I'm very glad we decided to do it."

As well as turning her energies to fostering, Liz also now gets a lot of pleasure from Phab (Physically handicapped able-bodied) Freewheelers Club, which meets at Burslem Day Centre every other Thursday evening.

"I found Phab through an old school friend who told me about it two years ago and I've never looked back since," she says.

"It's an opportunity for people of all sorts of ages with and without disabilities to get together and enjoy themselves with games, arts and crafts and trips out.

"It's offered me something new with people who understand what it's like.

"People see someone with a disability and judge you, but here no-one has to justify themselves. My friends at Phab are some of the funniest, brightest people I know. They are real comedians, which is great because nine times out of 10 people with a disability handle it with humour."

To learn more about the Phab Freewheelers Club, which meets at Burslem Day Centre every other Thursday evening between 7pm and 9.30pm, call Gillian Cooper on 01782 784371.