FLYING HIGH; TEEN BEATS DISABILITY TO BECOME STAR ATHLETE.Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer In many ways, Aimee Walker is living every teen-ager's dream. Just three days shy of her 15th birthday, she's already a knockout with shiny blond hair, bright blue eyes Blue eyes are eyes that have blue irises (see eye color), and may also refer to:
adj. sas·si·er, sas·si·est 1. Rude and disrespectful; impudent. 2. Lively and spirited; jaunty. 3. Stylish; chic: a sassy little hat. smile. Despite her petite frame, she's toned and muscular thanks to years of gymnastics gymnastics, exercises for the balanced development of the body (see also aerobics), or the competitive sport derived from these exercises. Although the ancient Greeks (who invented the building called a gymnasium training and competition. A natural before the camera, Aimee's already got a list of Hollywood credits, including roles in television movies, an instructional video - and ``Baywatch.'' The eighth-grader gets good grades at John Muir Middle School A middle school part of the Huron Valley School District located in Milford, MI. It is located in Milford, MI in Oakland County, MI. It is directly across the street from Baker Elementary. Muir Middle School serves grades 6 through 8. The mascot is the Hawkeye. in Burbank. And she's popular too, shyly confessing that boys vie for her attention. But unlike most youngsters and athletes, Aimee is completely deaf, and blind in her right eye. In competition, she routinely beats out other girls who are unhindered unhindered Adjective not prevented or obstructed: unhindered access Adverb without being prevented or obstructed: he was able to go about his work unhindered by the handicaps she has fought to overcome since birth. ``I love gymnastics. . . . You never get bored,'' Aimee signed, her hands fluttering rapidly. ``You feel yourself flying like a butterfly, like on the bars or the vault. It's so fun.'' Today, the butterfly will spread her wings again at the eighth annual Golden State International Friendship Challenge '98, a three-day gymnastics tournament in Burbank. More than 500 amateur gymnasts from 15 states and five countries will compete. Because she was raised in an athletic family, it is no surprise Aimee loves being active. Brother Danny, 21, excels at basketball and brother James, 17, is captain of the track team at Burbank High School Burbank High School may refer to:
Aimee soars on the floor exercise. Her nemesis Nemesis (nĕm`ĭsĭs), in Greek religion and mythology, personification of the gods' retribution for violation of sacred law; the avenger. Sometimes she was said to be the goddess of good and ill fortune. is the balance beam. With vision in only one eye, she has limited depth perception. ``I'm overcoming my fear. It's difficult to balance but I'm working very hard,'' Aimee signed. ``But it's strange. I say to myself, I just have to go for it.'' Aimee will compete today on the floor to the aria from Bizet's ``Carmen Carmen throws over lover for another. [Fr. Lit.: Carmen; Fr. Opera: Bizet, Carmen, Westerman, 189–190] See : Faithlessness Carmen the cards repeatedly spell her death. [Fr. ,'' the famous, tragic and romantic opera she has used in competition for years. But she has never heard a note from it. ``I imagine how it would sound,'' Aimee signs, she said closing her eyes and smiling. In her routine, she prides herself most for her best trick - a front handspring into a front full handspring, into a front one-and-a-half twist, into a back handspring and then a back-handspring layout. To prepare, Aimee practices her timing with her coach to make sure her moves match the tempo of the song, and know when to stop. Her progress and ability as an athlete still astound a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, those around her, especially her parents, who have sacrificed time and money to make Aimee's achievements in gymnastics possible. On a typical week, Aimee wakes up for school at 6 a.m. After school, her mother takes her to practice for four hours until 9 p.m. at the Golden State Gymnastics Center in Burbank. She eats dinner around 10 p.m., does her homework and calls it a day at midnight. Weekends mean even more practice. ``It has changed our family structure a lot,'' Patsy Walker said. ``But it's worth it because she's had a lot of wonderful experiences, although we've also been through some heartbreaking heart·break·ing adj. 1. Causing overwhelming grief or distress. 2. Producing a strong emotional reaction: heartbreaking loveliness. moments. The triumphant moments have outweighed the bad.'' Aimee was born tiny and frail due to a lack of oxygen at birth, with an umbilical umbilical /um·bil·i·cal/ (um-bil´i-k'l) pertaining to the umbilicus. um·bil·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to the navel. 2. Relating to the umbilical region of the abdomen. chord wrapped three times around her neck. Doctors told her parents she would take a long time to learn to walk. Born with double hip dysplasia
Hip dysplasia is a hereditary disease that, in its more severe form, can eventually cause crippling lameness and painful arthritis of the joints. , she wore leg braces until the age of 2. Too busy worrying about her weak limbs, her parents didn't even discover she was deaf until she was 10 months old. Eight months after that they learned her right eye was missing central retina tissue. ``When she was first born into the house the family's question was, why? Why did our daughter have to have multiple handicaps?'' her father said. ``Then as time goes on you find out what a special, unique, fantastic person she is and we now ask why we are so lucky to have her in our home.'' Today Aimee has so many awards she's lost count. She just came back two weeks ago with the bronze medal in the AT&T Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. in Hawaii, beating her competitor from the Australian national team. Her exuberance and story has inspired many and helped her land acting spots. She was in the movie ``Little Girl in Pretty Boxes,'' she played a drowning girl in ``Baywatch,'' and she plays a part in an instructional sign-language video. Her fans love her - some have already offered to create a Web site for her through which she could teach other young people sign language. Aimee says she dreams one day of becoming an elite gymnast, even eyeing the Olympics in 2000. And someday, she'd love to be a gymnastics coach or competition judge and open her own gym to share her love for the sport with other young people. ``Every day, gymnastics makes my body stronger, my mind more focused,'' Aimee signed. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Accomplished gymnast Aimee Walker, 15, uses a practice beam in her family's Valley Village home to rehearse her sport. (2) Aimee Walker, 15, hasn't let her deafness and visual impairment Visual Impairment Definition Total blindness is the inability to tell light from dark, or the total inability to see. Visual impairment or low vision is a severe reduction in vision that cannot be corrected with standard glasses or contact lenses and keep her from winning numerous awards for her gymnastic ability. Evan Yee/Daily News |
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