By Joe Milicia
The Associated Press

AKRON - First-year medical resident John Melville hurries through the halls of Akron General Medical Center in staggered strides. A 57-year-old woman with stroke symptoms has just arrived.

As critical care specialist Dr. Darell Heiselman explains the situation, Melville walks with his left leg bent slightly inward, feet at odd angles and upper body tilted slightly to the left - all due to cerebral palsy.

Melville's determination, sense of humor and optimism are all qualities that have helped him become a resident in internal medicine and pediatrics. So has his disability.

"If you took that away, he'd be a different person than he is today," his sister Aliea Melville said. "It created this stubborn nature in him to not accept 'no,' and not care what anybody says."

Melville's disability affects body movement and coordination and is caused by damage to the brain. Almost 70 percent of those with cerebral palsy have other disabilities, primarily mental retardation, according to the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

Melville, 27, a San Diego native, is limited physically, but not mentally.

At birth, however, doctors told his parents he would have an IQ of only about 50. He went on to earn nearly a straight-A average at Brigham Young University.

Despite high grades, Melville at first had difficulty getting into medical school. He was accepted at five schools, choosing the University of California at San Diego.

In Akron General's intensive care unit, Melville grabbed the hands of patient Sharon West, and told her to squeeze, trying to determine how a possible stroke was affecting her brain.

"Come on, you're squeezing like a girl," he said.

"I am a girl," West piped up, laughing.

West warmed to Melville quickly, saying that his tone of concern for her was reassuring.

"He just had great contact. He was very personable," she said. "And I don't like a lot of doctors."

Dr. James Dougherty, chairman of medical education at Akron General, said Melville, the hospital's first disabled resident, has an intangible gift.

"He can bond with patients very quickly," Dougherty said. "Within a short period of time the patients don't focus on his disability but focus on him as a person."

Melville said it's important to remember to care for the patient and try to recognize their suffering.

"I can make them feel cared for," he said. "That becomes the basis for a magical relationship in which they trust me."

He's also quick to acknowledge any limitations he has as a doctor.

"I write slower. I talk slower. I examine patients slower," he said.

After sticking himself twice in medical school, he no longer handles needles or other sharp objects.

Although a comedian and an optimist, Melville is also a realist. He doesn't like it when people tell disabled children what he calls "the great lie."

"The great lie is, 'You can do anything you want to,' " Melville said. "I can't go play first base for the Cleveland Indians. Well, maybe the Cleveland Indians."

He prefers "the great truth."

"I believe everyone has something that is what I call a passion," he said. "Something you can spend your whole life doing and never want for anything else."