In this week’s edition of This Hits Different, Shelby Cassesse tells the story of Valley freshman swimmer Sidney Shirey, who has thrived in the pool despite a rare condition.
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Valley freshman thriving in pool despite rare genetic disorder
Valley high school freshman Sidnie Shirey has been in the pool since she can remember.
“My grandparents had a pool in their backyard,” said Shirey. “So my pap taught me how to swim at a very young age.”
The water is second nature, but Shirey swam competitively for the first time this year, joining her school's team with the encouragement of her friends and family.
“Whenever I told my mom at first, she was very supportive and was like, ‘yes, let’s do it,’” Shirey said. “And then two of my friends actually joined with me.”
Shirey has spent a large portion of her childhood undergoing and recovering from intense surgeries, six of them to be exact. She was born with TAR syndrome, a rare genetic disorder where babies are born without a radius bone in their arms. The surgeries were done to try to lengthen her arms.
“It was hard because whenever I was getting surgery I wouldn’t be allowed to, in the summer, I couldn’t swim,” she said. “If I got it in the winter, I couldn’t participate ini him class.”
With the surgeries behind her now, Shirey entered high school willing to try something new. The swim team was a way to step out of her comfort zone, while jumping into something familiar: the pool.
She quickly started seeing the results of her hard work.
“I started out and I wasn’t as fast as everybody,” she explained. “But by my third meet, my time shortened by about 20 seconds.”
Shirey ended up finding her stride in the 100 breaststroke, a maneuver that does present some unique challenges for her, but one she makes her own, relying on her core and lower body muscles to propel her alongside the competition.
“Probably my abs,” she said of what propels her the most. “I have to make sure that I get my body out of the water. But because I can’t use my hands, I have to make sure my stomach area is able to push me up enough, along with my legs.”
Her first competitive swimming season was a success, reflected in her growing strength, dwindling times and the friendships made a long the way. She said that support from teammates is what stands out.
“Even if I wouldn’t come in first, they would still be cheering for me, telling men good job and standing on ether side of the pool screaming like, ‘come on, let’s go, you got this,’” she said.
Shirey has never been one to set limitations for herself, or let doubters stand in her way. That mentality has been key to all she's accomplished so far, and is her number one piece of advice to others facing adversity.
“A lot of people tell you you can’t do something, but then you go out and prove them wrong,” she said. “And it feels great.”