Adam Copes with illness

Menzies Creek poet Adam Cope is getting ready to release his first published book.Picture: Nigel Clements

By Tania Martin
ADAM Cope is living proof that anything is possible.
The talented Menzies Creek poet has beaten all the odds and is getting ready to release his first book.
But it has not been easy for the 36-year-old.
Adam was diagnosed with Tuberous Schlerosis Complex (TSC) when he was just two months old.
The condition is a genetic disorder and affects various parts of the body and leads to tuber-like growths on the brain and in other organs including the kidneys, heart, liver and lungs.
The growth usually forms before birth and interferes with the brain’s function causing seizures, developmental delays, and mental retardation.
As a result of his condition, Adam is unable to speak but communicates through a computerised keyboard.
His parents Les and Peta were given little hope that their son would lead a normal life or that he would live past his teens.
But Adam was determined to beat the odds.
Les said his wife first started noticing something wasn’t right with their son when he was just two months old.
“He had a couple of petit mal fits and then a grand mal seizure and we knew something was not right,” he said.
The couple took their son to the Royal Children’s Hospital and Adam was diagnosed with TSC.
“Suddenly, our whole world had been turned upside down,” Les said.
For years, Adam was unable to communicate.
But at 11, he was given the chance with the use of an integration aide and an electronic keyboard.
It was then that his family discovered Adam’s passion for prose.
“We realised he had a skill we could build on,” Les said.
After years of going to special developmental schools in Knox, Pakenham and at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Adam was finally able to attend mainstream school.
This came as Adam was accepted into a school integration pilot scheme at Menzies Creek Primary School.
Les said with the help of Rosemary Crowsley, Adam was given the opportunity to communication through the keyboard technology.
This led to Adam being able to lead a reasonably normal life.
He attended Emerald Secondary College and proved to his peers that anything is possible.
Although it took him four years, Adam completed his Victorian Certificate of Education with flying colours.
He scored a tertiary entrance score of 68, which is well above average.
“It was absolutely amazing, words can’t describe how proud we were,” Les said.
“It was a major step in his life and to come out with a score on the higher end of normal was amazing.”
Now Adam is getting ready to release his first book of poetry.
It has been a work in progress for more than 22 years.
The majority of the poems were written when Adam was just a teenager.
Les said the theme is mainly focussed around the environment, social just issues and personal experiences.
But he said it was not surprising Adam was a poet.
His grandmother is also a poet in her own right and Adam was exposed to Dylan Thomas when Les undertook an English course.
“Language has always been a normal part of our home environment,” Les said.
Adam’s book Windows has been published by Woorilla and will be launched on Sunday 4 October at Burrinja Gallery by former Victorian Premier Joan Kirner.
Ms Kirner has always been a close friend to Adam and his family.
As the former Education Minister, she met the Copes regularly as they fought to give their son a normal education.
Les said Ms Kirner at one stage even wanted to read one of Adam’s poems out in Parliament.
But his parents didn’t want Adam to be caught in the middle of anything political.
Ms Kirner is one of the reasons Adam’s work has finally been published.
“She met Adam last year and asked how his book was going,” Les said.
He said this was the push in the right direction the family needed to get Adam’s work out there.
Finalising the book was also a family affair with Adam’s grandmother helping to choose which poems to include and Les doing all the graphic design work.
The book also features a number of illustrations from Les.
“I did an exhibition a couple of years ago which was inspired by Adam’s poems,” Les said.
“I also illustrated the painting on the front of the book.”
Les said this was a significant step forward for Adam.
“It’s a celebration of where he has been and how far he has come,” he said.
The launch is by invitation only but the book will be available to the public by contacting the Copes on 5968 4579.