Notes from zalayah
Club foot, fibular hemamilia, no fibulas, many metatarsals, amputation was an option, multiple surgeries that’s what they said at hte beginning. No not until we deliveed, even though we did have ultrasound, it was a shock whenever we delivered her, they donticed it as soon as she ws born and it was oh boy, Children’s said we needed to see an orphtiedist, within a wek, Dr. Grudziak i want to make sure, i knwo this is a good indpisrational story for peopel who , again, they talked about when we wnet the first time, it coudl be amputation, proshetetics, he wasn’t too sure shed be able to wlk he said he’d do the best he can, but he didn’t know if she would walk.
She had several series, first at 3 months, trying to straighten the foot, it ws ballerina, it was up, not flat, and they tried to flatten it, they kept doing that, multiple surgeris so she could walk. at a year old they aputated the big toe, it was at 90 degrees, when she was one they dcided to try to straighten the leg, support the legs, they put rods, in both legs, they did one then the other, mai problem was zalayah is so headstrong, when she was a baby, dr. grudziak said you ahve to be still, cast has to come off. We went to ER to try to get the cast to stay on, Dr. said you gotta keep her still.
her upper body is really strong, i thikn that helps her be a goo d ballpalyer, she’d lift herself up to get onto the toilet, there wer no limitations when i t came to her, she didn’t let anthing stop her when it came to moving forward.
Clarence – part of me says, i say she’s a blessing, for me, i believe god put her on this earth to do big things. Originally if elt he put her on this eart for her mom, she ws going though thihgs, i felt she’s here to show her mom hey it doens’t matter, what you go thorugh you gotta pick yourself up, you gotta ekep going. i’m glad she’s here because she inspires so many people. Kids gravitate toward her, we have people here.
TAY – when you think her life was going to be so different becuase people were going to make fun of her. She took a lot, she said they don’t
It makes me cry every time i read it. She wears kids shoes, size 2. Size 2 children’s shoe.
She wants to be like everybody else, she doesn’t wear special shoes.
i just coudln’t see myself amputating, i just couldn’t you don’t know what her life would be about. Let her make that decision. If she gets tired of surgeries, but if i would have made that decision when she was huounger, would she be playing basketball todya, would she have limitetd herself to a wheelchair and prosthetics
She’s a freshman, she’s ledd the team in scoring on multiple occasions, she’s a starter on the team.
For one game, she played the whole game. Her coach asked us if there were limtitions, but my rule has been, if you’re sick, if you’re hurt, if the uniform is on and you go out to play you have to play,
z would get knocked down, i’d sit on bench and watch, id’ say she has to get up, i explained, I refuse you to use that as an excuse, you’re gonna get knowcked odwn, that’s life. you get up and you keep moving She’d getand she’d be cryingand i’d say do you want to play? She’d say eyah.
She has limitations, she’s in pain, her spine is tilting, her leg lenth is shorter than the other, she’s consistely having back pain.
They put in plates in the knee.
They’re probably doing surgery again in the spring, we said, Dr. Gurdziak, we see eveyr 6 motnhs to ayear to make suer leg is growing right.
One 75 percent he said it was 35 to 40 percent grown, he wants to even it out, then Zalayah said she’s having a lot of problems with the rods in her legs, in Feb. he might think about pulling them out. her feet and her legs, rods in the legs. The x ray fowhere ther’es no fibula, she has a tibia,
Multiple operations, operations ahead of her, She has 3 toes on one foot, 4 toes fused on thge other foot. older photo.
Here’s the rod, no bones in the legs, Even now i take pictures it’s becuase yuo’re amazing, i tell z all the time, you’re amazing, it’s ni.
I’m inspired by your daguhter.
C – she’s Z would be taller, about 58, her biggest advantage is she’s short, her arms are long so she’s able to driblble better, she can do move siwht the ball better than average kids, center of gravity.
Only thing that hinders her is beaucse of the leg issue, she’s not able to get down court as quickly as evrybody else. She shoots, she does th basic fundmentals of basketball well Point guard.
Wahsington Hostpial, doctors sent us to Chidlrens after we were discharged. Teh set upan appointment for a week later, at Childrens’ I’m glad Grudziak is still there, i was worried, it’s good that she acutally still has him.
She had surgery every 3 months starting at the age of 3 months, after she turned 2, they were eery year up until 5, then Dr. G said no more surgeries, let her be a kid, then he’d do surgery at 14. She was , in 2016, June 10, she had her last surgery for the rods.
Z doesn’et want to do anything else, she said she likes who she is. I woudln’t wnat her to change. It’s like, she is who she is, as long as accepts who she is, why change youreslf.
Does voleyball also, shestried softb
She’s a child who’se older than what she is, she’s humble, she’s kind, she’ll give kids lunch money, she tries to cheer her friends up, she is , to me, a parent’s dream. Clarence.
Zalayah will never let somebody do without, she has a big heart, i’ve always brought my kdis up to, regardless if you get pickedon, try to stick up for toher people, i went through a lot of struggels getting picked on, always wantdd my kids to know you’re not supposed to pick on people, if peopel are talking about you, just move forward.
She ended up getting Student of the Month, and Most Valuable Player for Volleyball team. She’s the librero
She wants to help people, that’s her goal, to hekp others. the toe wouldnt have grown 3 toes on one foot.
You blame yourself, i felt guilty. i couldnt wrap my brain around it. I bawled. Its literally in gods hands. He has her here for a purpose and i believe she’s going to do big thigns.
She also has therapists, need to progress, even though shes older we It was really nice, evey r
trials and tribulations she goes through, zam is there, its been nice watching them play together.
they help each other out. Zam is protective of Zalayah.
She has hip and knee problems. Pain. If hwe bacvk is hurting, doctors reconnend. Hip bothers her but bacause leg is growing. she still walks with a limp but not bad. Her legs are getting more even.
My dad’s a coach and so when i was younger, we ould go to all his basketball games, it ran in the family, i was going to be a basektball player.
So, i do have, i’m missing a fibula, it hurts when i run becaue i don’t have balance, i’m running on one bone, the tibia, actaully, i have missing toes and bones in my foot, so it’s kinda hard,and all thatimpact whenim running, when i run and smash into the ground it hurts but i just push throgh it, i definitely have a lot of pain after. Backetball is just something i know i can do, it helps me with like, it helps me undertand i can do something, i know i’m good at, i just like it. I honestly don’t have to do anything different, i fele like i’m like the other players. I can shoot, i can drive , i can dribble, i really don’t have to do anything different. Shooting 3s.
I have rods in my knee to slow my growh plate, because one leg is longer than the other, so we just slowed it down, so wehn we take the rods out we hopemy legs are leveled, evened out, after basketball season.
I know my dad, he wanted to become a nurse and he didn’re teally get to puruse that, he worekd realy hard to provide for all of us. I also want to do nursing because i feel like i’m realluy gppdwith kids and other people, i feel like i ican help them and make them feel ok, that they can get better. I just want to help. I like helping. Been through so much i can relate to what they’re expriencing.
I love my team, my team, we have that bond and it feels like we’ve been playing with each other forever, we have that chemistry. Im honestly surprised ive been the leading scorer a couple games beause i’m only a freshmean and we have great players, i’m surprised.
I feel like people should just try and like, they never know what’s going to happen, just keep pushing, even if it hurts a little bit, just push and you’ll see positive outcomes will come. My bishop game, i was in so much pain, but in the fourth quarter, that’s when i started making my shots and scoring and acually doing well, so i think they need to just push themselves and try adn just know that they can do it. I feel it’s a mental thing, if you think you can do it, you can do it. You never know.
I want my coach to play me, and if i’m really hurting, i’ll tell her i need out. I just want people to just push themselves, and think tht they can do, don’t let that disaility stop them. y/ou’re capable of doing whatever you want to do.
A lot of people don’t understand, when tey see me they stare, or they’ll make a joke about it, recently one time someone said something about a girl and if you’re pretty that means you have 10 toes, but i don’t let that bother me.
Support from teammates, classmates and friends.
My mom she like when i was younger she would show people my feet so i wasn’t scared when it came to me showing people my feet and showing what i loooked like, that helpedme with my insecurities. My dad was my coach, when i would get hurt, he’d say get up, you’re fine. and that helped me become a stronger person, and he’d alawys teach me to never let my disability stop me from doing antything, like dont’ say i can’t do this because i have a disability, he never wanted me to say that. he just wanted me to go. 6-2 record.
Dr. Grudziak – Remarkable Of course, she had aserily compeltely stfiff feet, i don’t know how she’s runnigh hondstly, in order to run you have cooperation from your joints and feet, feet are fist to touch the ground, ability to jump is severly limited if loing otion of foot, her motion is so limitied , there is no sideay motion, no ability to absrob the shock. it’s amazign.
Ampuated Was a option, many kids are doing better after amputition, when you are born with deformed feet, when you ultimately make decision, we recommend doing as soon as poosible, within first year or two of life. to adapt after amputation whenyoure older might take
The condition we call femulr jemamilia, part of fibula is msising, all spectrum, the part of this condition that’s difficult is the foot, if she ws born without fibula hbut had normal foot, she’d bem cuh beter off.
She is a tough cookie, she surprises me, i’d never advise her to play basketblal, when youre not fully funcition ing foot, the risk of arthrisit is much chigher than everyone else, arhtrisit means palin, seh probably will get to the point wehre pain will be pmore
Frst of all the fmaily, mom dad and siblignsa re extremly nice people, each famiy funcilas like they do, she’s highly motiveated, alsways updbeat, nerver hera her complain about anything, takes eeerying in stride, i like that about her, tha’ts from her family, her parents have done a n extremely goo jb with her.
She might or might not pay the price later on, but she’s doing it, having fun, realy it’s hard to .. we should all support her and the family.
If she is able to play abastlkelbal, nthere’s no way she woulnt be able to fulfill the responsibiliteis of being a nurse, she has a brai, shen havs arms, she is very bright.
I alwsys thrilled to work with a faily lke those guys, from the get go the dad and mom show up together for every single appointment, speaks volutmes for hw they care about their daguhte and how much support they give her. They kenow wht is the most imrotatn thing the fac that she was was born.with a defect is not the end of the world and it shouldn’t hold her back.