Lynnwood—
A Lynnwood teen faced with an unbelievable challenge is defying the odds and living life the the fullest.13 year-old Kayla Wheeler was born a congenital amputee. She has no legs and one arm.
"It was such a shock I don't know how else to describe it because we really had no idea," says Kayla's mom Joyce Wheeler.
Wheeler says doctors did not catch her daughter's condition on her ultrasounds. She admits the first year after Kayla was born, she spent many days feeling depressed, but things started turning around when Kayla was 13 months old. That's when she got her first wheelchair.
"They put her in this demo chair and she grabbed a hold of the joy stick and drove it down the hall. You could almost see the jaws drop," says Wheeler.
When Kayla was two years-old, she had surgery to separate two of her fingers so she could use her hand to grab things.
"It didn't slow her down too much. She put a marker in her mouth and drew with it. We always told her there's nothing you can't do, we just have to figure out a different way for you to do it. From there she has pushed the envelope."
That's an understatement. Since she was little, she's been on a bowling team. When Kayla wanted to jump rope, they put her on a trampoline and she did that too. There was ballet and baseball and six years ago she picked up skiing.
She takes lessons at Snoqualmie Pass and is strapped into a sled-type device mounted to a ski. She uses her body weight to make turns and an instructor follows behind with straps attached to Kayla's sled to control her speed.
If all that wasn't impressive enough, you should see her in the water.
"It makes me feel free because I don't have all the limitations I do out of the water," says Kayla. "I can do flips under the water and I can do cartwheels in the water."
What's even more remarkable, kids who can do all that on land are looking to her as a leader. Kayla helps coach a swim team in Edmonds when she's not competing herself. Kayla holds the US Record in the 50 meter butterfly in her class, yes butterfly.
She recently won two gold medals at a Paralympic World Championship meet in Brazil.
"I don't get sad about my life. I just try to find other ways to make it better than it already is," says Kayla.
So what's next for this amazing teen? Kayla would like to make it to the 2012 Paralympic Summer games in London. Oh yeah, then there's sky diving and bungee jumping she's adding to her list. We have no doubt she will accomplish those feats too.
