Date posted online: Monday, April 02, 2007
Conquering the curve
Fozkos
overcomes congenital condition
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CHESTERTON | Ashley
Fozkos was barely a month old when a doctor at
The good news was Brian and Leigh
Fozkos' second child didn't have
spina bifida. The bad news was she had
congenital scoliosis -- curvature of the spine.
Before her fourth birthday,
Fozkos, now a senior pole vaulter at
Chesterton, underwent surgery at
Fozkos was fitted with
a plastic cast (brace) from her neck to waist that had three metal bars. One
bar was in front and two others were in the back. There was a strap on the
lower back and a nut by her neck to secure the top.
The brace, which resembled a clam shell in the back, was designed not to let
the torso move at all. The brace was confining and restrictive. Ashley had
to wear it 23 hours a day.
"There were times when she was a kid where your heart was broken, but you
knew it was more important to be in the brace,'' her dad said.
"There might have been some important things she missed at the time,
but you knew they wouldn't be later.''
From the time she was 4 until the second grade, Fozkos
had only an hour of freedom on any given day. She might shower and play, but
wasn't supposed to eat -- because the cast was form-fitted and couldn't
expand.
"It was hard on me. I couldn't play a lot because I was so restricted, but
we did what we could,'' Ashley said.
The brace was removed when Fozkos was about 8
years old. During the course of her childhood, Fozkos
went through three or four braces. Doctors checked her twice a year and
watched for any increase in the curve.
When Fozkos was in seventh grade, she had to
wear the brace again but not for such prolonged periods of time. By the time
she was in the eighth and ninth grades, she was in the brace about 10 hours
each night.
"The brace was never really without its challenges, but we were pretty
creative,'' Leigh said.
While Fozkos always has had a 30 percent drop in
her shoulders, the condition hasn't worsened and that's what the surgery was
meant to do.
Ashley has never let scoliosis slow her down. She's actually grown stronger
through adversity. She withstood the limitations she experienced, tackled
the challenges she faced head on and never appeared fazed by anything.
A diver at Chesterton, Fozkos began
pole-vaulting as a freshman. By the time she was a junior she won a
sectional title and qualified for state with an 11-2 effort at the Highland
Regional.
Two weeks ago, an 11-6 vault helped her place second at the Hoosier State
Relays.
"I was amazed by her originally, but not anymore,'' Chesterton head coach
Steve Kearney said. "I'm a definite believer in
her now. I think you'll see her vault with the crossbar at 13 feet this
year. Ashley's good at keeping her nose to the grindstone and grinding away
until she gets where she wants to be.''
While her shoulders won't allow her to do forward or backward rolls, and any
overhead lifting, Fozkos doesn't let that stop
her. Whatever she can't do in terms of flexibility, she makes up for with
her ferocity.
"It's not a big deal to me and it's something I can deal with,'' Ashley said.
"My technique is pretty much where we'd like it to be.''
Ashley said she hates being pitied.
"That drives me up a wall,'' she said. "I've
dealt with this for 18 years, so I really don't care.''
Fozkos' dad, a 1984 Highland grad, who serves as
his daughter's vault coach, cares so much, it sometimes hurts.
Sometimes he'll look down the runway and see Ashley with a 12 to 13-foot
pole in her hands and his emotions take over.
"I think about when she was born, and here's this beautiful little girl and
you're looking at all kinds of problems,'' Brian said. "She
was a frail little thing then, and look at her
now -- getting 11 or 12 feet up in the air.
"You've come a long way, baby.''
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