Groton - Michael Grater works to keep his legs strong, just in case. That belief - that he could one day use his legs to their full ability again - shows a depth of determination that Grater has carried with him.

Grater, or “Gus” to those who know him well, will graduate from Robert E. Fitch High School Friday and attend Providence College in the fall. He hopes to become a special education teacher or psychologist.

”I've been through a lot,” he said. “I think I have a lot to offer kids.”

When Grater was 4 years old, he suffered a stroke. He was in a coma for 24 hours while doctors tried to figure out what was wrong.

”I came pretty close to dying,” he said.

It turned out Grater was born with methylmalonic acidemia, a metabolic disorder that had caused the stroke.

But the stroke caused new problems for Grater. He was later diagnosed with dystonia, a movement disorder that causes the muscles to contract and spasm involuntarily. It mostly affected Grater's legs. He used a walker through elementary and middle school, but the condition worsened, and he was using a wheelchair by eighth grade.

Grater decided to try a more drastic treatment: deep brain stimulation surgery. Batteries were implanted in his chest and electrodes attached to his brain to send electrical impulses there.

Grater and his family had hoped for better results, but the treatment did help slow down and smooth out his movements so he could continue to work on his walking.

Since then, he has tried every kind of therapy, no matter how painful.

One was a trial that pumped medicine through a catheter into his spine, which hurt his back and made him sick.

”My mom says it's like watching someone get tortured,” he said.

He gets around 30 Botox shots to loosen muscles in his hamstrings and feet.

”My arms are pretty money though,” Grater said, joking that he can impress the ladies with muscles built up from pushing his wheelchair.

During high school, the dystonia took over another part of his body - his vocal cords.

”I've always been competitive and have to do the best at what I'm doing,” Grater said. “That was a whole new challenge I had to deal with. That was tough.”

He began speech therapy when he was a junior. His speech isn't perfect, but it did improve.

He said he has always had great friends since elementary school at S.B. Butler, and the thought that he missed out on anything in life has not even occurred to him.

Everyone has his or her own challenges in life, he said. “You gotta shine through all that stuff.”

He's happiest sitting on his deck in the sun or playing “living room baseball” with friends. Though it sounds dangerous, the game was adapted for indoors using a ping pong ball.

He plays wheelchair soccer and is pretty adept at hopping in his car, disassembling his wheelchair, and tossing it in the back seat. He uses hand controls for the gas pedal and brake.

At school, he uses a laptop computer during class because it's difficult for him to write.

He is also a teacher's assistant for another student with a disability.

“It's awesome,” he said. “There's a lot of pride … to be part of their growth.”

Grater was one of 26 students to receive a scholarship from the governor's Coalition for Youth with Disabilities this year, and gave a speech at age 16 about his experience in front of 300 people at a fundraiser held by the Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia and Parkinson Foundation Inc.

His favorite teacher, Jill-Mary Hayes, who teaches English, said that besides being an excellent student, Grater is a role model for others.

”He never lets anything physical get in the way of anything he wants to do,” Hayes said. “He's really dedicated to doing the most he can no matter how long it takes. I can't wait to see what he does with his life.

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