19-year-old Cooper Meshew thrives in spite of physical barriers

A debilitating disease is just a side note in the life of a 19-year-old Wooster High School and Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute graduate with an associate's degree in crop management.

For Cooper Meshew, a rare and aggressive form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), a degenerative nerve disease with muscle weakness, has taken a backseat to his hopes and dreams since he was diagnosed with it at the age of 10.

Even when he couldn't brush his own teeth or pull on his socks without help, or when he was in pain from difficult surgeries on his back and his throat, he set out to accomplish more than a lot of other people his age who have no physical disabilities.

Meshew has been home for the holidays following a season working with a Danielski Farms Inc. crew, based in Valentine, Nebraska. Using adaptive devices he harvested corn, soybeans and wheat across Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas from April to November.

He was not deterred by falling out of the tractor multiple times over the course of his tenure.

"His toes are curling," his mother, Heidi Meshew said.

"That's why I fall," said Cooper, shrugging it off. "It just happens; you land on dirt."

Neither was his employer put off by Cooper's limitations.

When Cooper sent out a Facebook post on a custom harvesting post saying, "I have a disability. Give me a chance," he received more than a dozen responses in 15 minutes.

Meshew launched Hunt for Hope foundation

He is used to making his own opportunities, having previously started his own lawn care company and launched a foundation called Hunt for Hope.

His parents aren't a bit surprised by his tenacity.

"He is so headstrong and determined if he wants to do something," his mother said.

She cited as example waking up at 6 a.m. one day to find 11-year-old Cooper maneuvering a screwdriver to access beef jerky.

"He has always found a way," she said.

He knows getting upset isn't going to change anything, his father, Scott Meshew said.

Neither are they taken aback by his choice of occupation.

He has been simulating his own farm experience since he was a little boy and his grandfather gave him a toy John Deere tractor.

He played for hours filling his trucks with corn kernels, Heidi said.

The basement of their home is filled with John Deere tractor models, and Cooper's bedroom has a John Deere- themed Christmas tree.

In February, he will start a new position as a seed representative.

"I'll still help with harvesting," he said.

Cooper said he has "very limited grip strength, very limited use of his right arm, can't pick up heavy things or unscrew lids."

Meshew prepares to live independently

Because he will live completely on his own for the first time, his parents, who have helped Cooper find adaptive devices for just about every situation in which their son finds himself, are now doing it for his apartment. His mom is particularly looking at cooking assistance so that he can make his own meals.

Although Cooper could easily be completely preoccupied with conquering his own barriers, instead he is focused on helping others work through theirs.

Hunt for Hope was developed to offer the chance Cooper had when he was 10 and went on his first hunting trip, creating a passion that has continued, given the results of his expeditions mounted around the living room of his Wooster Home.

The nonprofit organization's mission is to provide outdoor educational and recreational opportunities, including deer hunting and big game hunting, not just for able-bodied people. It is specifically designed to include physically challenged and medically fragile participants as well.

His next community service goal is a fundraising parade for Akron Children's Hospital.

"I want to do that for Akron Children's," he said.

Cooper's doctor, Kathryn Mosher, director of the Neuromuscular Clinic at Akron Children's, called him "a tough cookie."

Faced with an incurable and untreatable disease, Cooper is "a remarkable young man who was taken his challenges and worked hard to overcome them," Mosher said.

She is especially impressed "he created a charitable organization to help other kids."

"I've been stunned how many patients at Akron Children's have gone on these hunts. He really tapped into something," Mosher said.

"I'm not a hunter," she said, but even so appeared on a television hunting show with Cooper. "He has taken me on his celebrity journey."

Cooper "excels as a human being," she said, pursuing his dream job despite a progressive condition.

"I don't think it's going to stop," he said, but it doesn't stop him from living life and moving on."

"It's a learning curve," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Wooster grad Meshew thrives in spite of degenerative nerve disease