An accident took her left leg, but K-M senior Victoria Zimmerman\u2019s drive, desire were left fully intact<\/b><\/p>\n
The accident crushed a limb, but not her spirit. Claimed a leg, but not her heart. Changed her life, but not her outlook.<\/p>\n
Such a horrific turn of events might have driven some people into a secluded shell. Instead, Victoria Zimmerman has become a pearl of inspiration as a Kent-Meridian High school senior.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s true in the classroom, as she is enrolled full time in the Running Start program at Green River Community College. And it\u2019s true on the tennis court, which, in a figurative way, she felt tugging at her even as she lay in a hospital bed in January 2007 pondering what life would be like without her left leg.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to play tennis,\u201d Zimmerman recalled, taking a break from a recent turnout on one of those rare spring afternoons when the Royals actually were able to practice outside. \u201cI played volleyball freshman and sophomore year, and didn\u2019t play junior year. But I was like, \u2018I want to play tennis\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
This spring, thanks to a prosthetic leg specially designed for the sport and the various moves that it requires, the 17-year-old Zimmerman is playing tennis. And while most of her action has been at the junior varsity level (she has worked her way into two varsity contests), one would look long and far to find any player who\u2019s having a more enjoyable time of it on the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always liked the net \u2013 and now, I have to be at the net,\u201d Zimmerman said through a grin that never seems to melt. \u201cI\u2019ll always walk and move differently from everyone else. I have to have that in the back of my mind \u2013 and make sure to lift my foot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julie Such, a K-M varsity regular, was more than happy to team up with Zimmerman for a match earlier this spring. (Zimmerman also has played several JV matches.) While the final result wasn\u2019t what they had in mind \u2013 Kentwood\u2019s Niki Skinner and Camille Madsen won, 6-0, 6-2 \u2013 Such was thrilled just to be able to team up with her pal.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe and I are really good friends,\u201d Such said, adding with a smile, \u201cThere\u2019s never a dull moment with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSophomore year, I always wanted to play with her,\u201d Such added. \u201cBut then she had the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wrong place, wrong time<\/b><\/p>\n
Then she had the accident.<\/p>\n
It happened on a Friday \u2013 Jan. 12, 2007. After finishing school for the day, Zimmerman was walking to a bus stop on Kent\u2019s East Hill. On the way there, a car skidded on the icy road, jumped the curb and pushed Zimmerman against a retaining wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI blacked out,\u201d Zimmerman recalled. \u201cWhen I woke up, I was on the ground thinking, \u2018This isn\u2019t cool.\u2019 I don\u2019t remember a whole lot. I kept coming in and out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018Oh, great \u2013 I\u2019m going to be on crutches for two months.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
She was taken by ambulance to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she spent the next six weeks. During that time, she had seven operations, including one in the immediate aftermath to remove what remained of her leg.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The car) crushed it so bad, there wasn\u2019t any chance (to save it),\u201d Zimmerman said.<\/p>\n
She recalls the first couple of weeks as being \u201creally hazy.\u201d But Zimmerman remembers something else, too:<\/p>\n
Right from the get-go, she didn\u2019t have much use for any pouting, brooding, or \u201cwhy me?\u201d attitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really have any emotions,\u201d she said. \u201cThe doctors kept checking in (with me), but I was completely OK with it. My brother said the first week, I didn\u2019t talk about it \u2013 I would avoid the subject.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter that, I was telling them to get over it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zimmerman was discharged at the end of February and began physical therapy. Like everything else, her attitude helped smooth out what can be a rugged, arduous process even in far less severe situations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was easy because I\u2019ve always been a coachable person,\u201d said Zimmerman, who said she has been involved in sports since kindergarten.<\/p>\n
Among the components on her prosthetic leg is a shock absorber type of device to help deal with the natural impact of pursuing a tennis ball. Legs can be tailored for a multitude of activities, whether athletic or recreational. Zimmerman also has one for routine every-day use.<\/p>\n
Like everything else medical-related, they don\u2019t come cheap. Zimmerman said her every-day prosthetic costs about $10,000. The one she uses for tennis, because of its additional components, is closer to $15,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s made of carbon fiber. They say you can run over it with a truck,\u201d Zimmerman said, then adding with a grin, \u201cbut I haven\u2019t tried that.\u201d<\/p>\n
On-court reunion<\/b><\/p>\n
Royals coach Randy Werner was delighted to welcome Zimmerman back to the team this spring, having had her aboard as a freshman and sophomore.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can move on the court real fast,\u201d Werner said. \u201cShe just hustles her butt off. She\u2019s so inspiring to other people. She\u2019s always here, always comes with a smile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zimmerman, the youngest of seven offspring of parents Mark and Teri (she has four brothers and two sisters) sports a 3.5 grade-point average. And despite missing all the class time in the immediate weeks after the accident, she never fell off track academically. She plans to head to Western Washington University to study business, but says what she really wants to be is a chef. Or maybe a baker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to bake more than I can cook \u2014 I\u2019m always baking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As for that upbeat outlook of hers?<\/p>\n
Zimmerman figures that\u2019ll serve her as well as any finely crafted prosthetic as the years go by.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe women in my family live to be 100,\u201d said Zimmerman, adding that her great-grandmother came within one month of that magical mark, while one grandma is 84 and another is 78.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I have a long way to go.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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