Nicole's Goals

Nicole's Goals

by Beverly McClellan

My 10-yr-old granddaughter, Nicole, has spina bifida and as a result uses a wheelchair. Consequently, she has been excluded from many of the childhood games. However, this past summer the neighborhood kids who always play soccer decided she would make a good goalie. So there she sits in her chair blocking much of the net.

One day her mother overheard the other kids yelling "good stop, Nicole" and proceeded to give her the high-fives (The ball had hit the chair and bounced off). Nicole looked toward her mother and wiggled her fanny in her chair so as to show she'd made a good play. Warms my heart ...

~ Grandma Bev

About the Author

Beverly McClellan is a retired word processing operator, formerly employed by the University of Michigan. She's been married for 40 years, is the mother of a two (a son and a daughter), and the proud grandmother to 5-yr-old Joey, 10-year-old Katie, 6-year-old Elisa, and 10-year-old Nicole.

Beverly writes, "Nicole is a beautiful, wonderful gift from God who just happens to have a birth defect. She was born with spina bifida, has had 10 surgeries to date, and more to follow. In spite of this, she remains a happy, cheerful, outgoing, inspirational child. She is our good-will ambassador."

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