Cheerleaderovercomesillnesstobecomememberofsquad

by Gavin Mirig/iani assistant perspectives editor

In high school, most students worry about zits, relationships and popularity, but for first-year student Janet Mercuri those things were the least of her worries.

It was Mercuri's first year of high school when she lost the use of her left leg. Mercuri developed a disease known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which caused the passage way from the nerves in her left leg to her spine to be blocked.

In late October of the '92-'93 school year, Mercuri began to feel a tremendous amount of pain in her left leg when she walked.

The pain grew worse and Mercuri was forced to go to hospitals looking for answers.

The crippling disease left Mercuri in the hospital for a couple of months and she was forced to use a walking machine for about a year and a half.

The disease made Mercuri appreciate one of the little things in life that most people take for granted: the ability to walk.

The first few months were frustrating because she had to learn how to walk all over again.

With a year and a half of hard work and dedication, Mercuri was finally able to regain all of the mobility that she had lost in her left leg.

Mercuri could now live the life of a typical high school student.

Mercuri stayed active in high school a!"ld joined the tennis team her junior year and continued playing throughout her high school career.

This past semester she tried out for the cheerleading squad, but she did not make it.

Early on in her life she learned the only way to get something accomplished was by hard work and dedication. She learned this lesson at an early age and it ultimately led to Mercuri gaining a position on the cheerleading team.

Feeling the rejection of not making the team would discourage most people, but for Mercuri it was just another obstacle to overcome.

Mercuri would show up at all of the cheerleading practices in the beginning of the year and she learned the cheerleaders routines by watching them and then mimicking their moves.

Although she was not on the team, she was taken in by the members of the cheerleading squad right away because of her dedication.

In October of this year, the cheerleading coach was let go and Mercuri had another chance to prove herself to her teammates.

"I owe a lot to (first-year student) Brooke Yokum who had helped bring me onto the team," said Mercuri.

"When I am put up over the girls' heads, I am supported both physically and emotionally. I joined the team to be a part of the energy. It's nerve-racking to me to be up in position. All I want to do is look good for the other girls on the team. I don't want to let them down," Mercuri said.

"Before I could barely walk, and now I can be a part of a team and do the physical activities of life," Mercuri said. It has been something that Mercuri has always wanted to do and now at Cabrini she is getting the chance to do something that seemed impossible four years ago.