The Marcinkowski Family
My name is Sherry Marcinkowski. I joined the Board of Directors in 2024 because of the very personal connection I have to IM ABLE and the founder, Chris Kaag.
In 2009, my daughter experienced a life changing event. As an active gymnast for eight years, she found herself with leg pain that was initially thought to be a bad muscle sprain. After a week of “doctoring” her muscle sprain, Amber was unable to lift her leg. She had to lift it up and put in the car. When she would take a step her entire leg column would shift and rotate, her range of motion drastically decreased. Her pain became unbearable.
After being evaluated again by a specialist, she was diagnosed with Legg Calve Perthes Disease in her left hip joint. Perthes Disease is a disruption of blood flow to the head of the femur. Due to the lack of blood flow, the bone dies and stops growing.
If caught in time, you are taken off the affected leg to give it opportunity heal. At worst, the leg dies and collapses. Unfortunately, Amber suffered not only one collapse, but two. She went from being a very active, happy-go-lucky young girl who was always flipping and walking around the house on her hands to one that was used crutches and a wheelchair for the next two and a half years. There was no end in sight because she could not be on her leg.
Amber endured surgeries, a body cast, and therapy to try to help regain range of motion and strength. Our house had to have modifications to accommodate getting her in and out of the house in her wheelchair.
Part of the living room became her bedroom as she could not do stairs. For a couple of years, we made numerous trips to Dupont Children’s Hospital in Delaware for surgery and appointments. She was pulled from school as she struggled with mobility issues, extreme pain, challenges mentally and emotionally as she was teased and bullied by peers, not to mention her own self-image struggle. She struggled socially as she endured extreme pain and mobility issues that she was pretty much cast aside when it came to any involvement with her peers.
When Amber suffered her second bone collapse, she reached her breaking point.
We struggled with the next steps as she was still young with potential growth ahead, yet any movement, standing, laying or sitting was unbearable. Life had come to a standstill for us as a family and impacted what we were able to do. This included my son who just wanted to play and enjoy time with his sister. I didn’t want to put her on narcotic pain meds indefinitely, yet our options were slim.
At one point when the pain was too much to bear, I found her curled up on the floor, crying and expressing she just didn’t want to live any more. It had become too much to bear. Those are words you never want to hear from your child. As with any loving parent, this was quite difficult to navigate.
To address her physical needs, the only choice there was for her to have any kind of “normal” life was to have her hip replaced, yet there was so much to consider. There was so much more to her struggle that she needed help coping with.
It was through an acquaintance that I was encouraged to reach out to IM ABLE Foundation Founder and Chief Motivational Officer, Chris Kaag. I set up a meeting for my kids and I to meet him, most importantly for my daughter to connect with him. It was a priceless moment for us and one I will cherish forever. We met and discussed Amber’s challenges and her struggles – not only physically, but mentally and emotionally.
Chris cared tremendously for all 3 of us – my daughter, my son, and me. He took the time to speak with each of us not only as an adaptive individual but also as caregivers. Before doing anything else, he just took the time to talk, connect, and understand where we were in life. There was one moment in time, while we met, where I stood back and watched Chris connect and invest into my daughter – kindness, possibility, worth, value, motivation, and inspiration.
He helped her to see beyond the pain of what she was experiencing to the hope of what tomorrow held. He showed her that challenges didn’t define who she is or stop her from still being active, she would need to do it differently.
This changed the course of her mental outlook on her life and to one I am forever grateful for. She wanted to live because for the first time in a long time she saw past her obstacle and realized she could do it. He not only impacted her life, but also my son and me.
Amber had her hip replaced and afterwards experienced a broken leg due to atrophy. However, the IM ABLE Foundation loaned her a bike so she could get out to ride and socialize. They removed a barrier that prevented her from getting out.
There are no words to describe the feeling of watching your adaptive individual be able to try something they thought was impossible or to be able to provide opportunities beyond the four walls of your home.
Reality is, the work the Foundation does is not only impacting the lives of adaptive athletes – mentally, emotionally, physically, and socially – but it is also impacting the lives of caregivers who support them daily.
I thank God for Chris Kaag as he played a pivotal role at a crossroads in Amber’s life. I am also grateful to IM ABLE Foundation for removing the obstacles by providing opportunities with the bike, inclusion no matter her challenges, and hope for a better tomorrow.
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