BENTONVILLE — When Michael Swisher was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, his family knew things were going to be different and difficult.
His parents understood that the disease affecting the portions of the brain that control movement meant their son would be confined to a wheelchair and would likely be unable to do many of the things his older brother, Daniel, enjoyed.
Still, Swisher's parents, Gail and Brian Swisher, didn't let the diagnosis stop Michael, 18, from doing anything he wanted to do, including joining the Boy Scouts.
On Monday night, Swisher's family and friends gathered at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Bentonville to watch as Swisher was awarded his Eagle Scout badge.
"This was not an easyroute. Michael had to meet all the same requirements (for the Eagle Scout badge) as everyone else," Brian Swisher said.
Only four out of every 100 boys who enter Boy Scouts will become Eagle Scouts, said Galen Thiele, assistant scoutmaster of Troop 525. Thiele noted that the Boy Scouts don't keep statistics on the number of boys with disabilities who achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.
"Here, (the Scouts) are all equal," Brian Swisher said.
To obtain the rank of Eagle Scout, Michael Swisher has obtained 36 merit badges over the 10 years he has been a Boy Scout, including badges in auto mechanics, computers, landscape architecture, archery, horsemanship and rifle shooting.
Swisher's Eagle Scout project involved 36 other Scouts. Together, the group spent 343 hours designing and building a pavilion for Camp Barnabas, a camp for children with disabilities in Purdy, Mo. The group also cleared a 1/4-mile trail and made it wheelchair accessible.
"It was not very hard," Swisher said of obtaining his Eagle Scout rank.
Showing pictures of Swisher participating in various scouting activities, John Baker, Swisher's Cub Scout leader, recalled Swisher's time in his pack as an inspiration.
"Everything you have done has inspired me, and I have been saying, 'Go, Mike, go,' and now that you have done it, my heart is just so full that I cannot hardly hold it," Baker said.
Swisher's Eagle Scout award can be considered a tribute to his hard work and determination, as well to the community as a whole, said Keith Vire of the Arkansas Support Network. Swisher has been a client at the Arkansas Support Network for the last 16 years.
"It is a tribute to thiscommunity and to this troop. A lot of people talk about being open and accepting, but these people do not talk about it; they do it," Vire said of Troop 525. "One of the things I love about these folks is nothing is given. He earned this; it is not one of those pretend things."
After Swisher's mother pinned his Eagle Scout medal on him and his father presented him with an Eagle Scout badge and certificate, Swisher thanked everyone for helping him on his journey.
News, Pages 1, 8 on 09/23/2009