Meet Abbie McNeely: Athlete of the Week

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Sports have the power to completely change someone’s life. For 13 year old Abbie McNeely, that rings true.

At a young age, Abbie began having seizures, which left her mother Holly searching for answers.

“We found out because of the seizures… she’s got a genetic condition called neurofibromatosis”, said Holly McNeely, Abbie’s mother.

Around the age of three, Abbie stopped walking, and doctors had said they did not know if she could walk again. From there, Abbie received other diagnoses and began learning how to live with other nerve and joint issues.

In 2021, the mother-daughter duo was introduced to the Special Olympics, which completely transformed their lives.

“It was just like that minute of, ‘Oh, my word, we finally found our people’ because we had spent all those years just kind of feeling alone and lost because she’s not your typical special needs kid,” Holly said.

Abbie began by trying one-on-one swim lessons because it is one of the lowest-impact sports, and she was immunocompromised with COVID still lingering.

“Swim is my favorite because, well I’m the fastest at swim and I’m really good at it,” Abbie said.

From once being told she may never walk again, to now actively participating in three to four sports at once, Abbie is truly a living miracle!

“She still deals with a lot of the same health stuff, but we know what we’re dealing with now, so it’s a lot easier to get her the support early on, instead of letting things get really bad before we get her the treatment she needs,” said Holly McNeely.

Abbie goes to school at Village Middle School, where she has come a long way in being able to read and write, but it’s the joy of sports that keeps her active and thriving.

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