TONTOGANY — Although she has limited use of her legs, Otsego junior Abby Gase has never hung her head and has instead attacked life with full vigor.
The decorated Paralympic swimmer now has trouble lifting her head when she puts all of the medals that she won in Peru around her neck.
The spirited and determined 17-year-old was diagnosed with transverse myelitis at age 4. The rare autoimmune disorder caused lesions on her spinal cord leaving her with no use of her left leg and minimal use of her right leg.
“She does not like to hear the word, 'No,'” Abby's father, Bill, said. “If you tell her she couldn't do something, she was going to find a way to do it.”
Abby captured five medals at the Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru, last month. The high school student tied for the most medals won by any American female.
“It's sweet,” Abby said. “I'm involved in a lot of things. But this was my first really big meet. Being up top in the medal count was really sweet. It was awesome.”
She won gold in the 100-meter backstroke, Silver in the 400-freestyle relay, and bronze in the 50-free, 200-individual medley and 50-butterfly.
“She can't even put them all around her neck, they're too heavy,” Bill Gase said, chuckling.
Abby said the accomplishment fully hit her when the U.S. national anthem was played during the medal ceremony.
“They raised the flag and played the national anthem. Everyone is standing,” she said. “It was a dream of mine to compete at that level but I didn't know if I would ever end up on top.”
Gase, an unassuming and jovial high schooler, has excelled at adaptive sports. She placed second at the Ohio state track and field meet in June. Competing in the seated shot put event, she earned runner-up honors with a throw of 15-feet, 11 inches.
An active member of 4-H, Gase’s other hobbies also include raising market pigs, goats, and ducks. At the Wood County Fair in August, her duck was named Grand Champion. She also was third in the fair queen competition. She also excels at archery.
“I'm very proud of her,” said Abby's mother, Mary. “We're a tight family. It's very cool to see all of her hard work pay off.”
In an exceptional bit of serendipity, this small town of fewer than 400 residents is home to two phenomenal Paralympic athletes.
Abby Gase is following in the shoes of Otsego graduate A.J. Digby, a sprinter who uses running blades to compete and won a bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championships in England in 2017.
“To see her win that gold medal was unreal,” said Digby, whose family lives just a mile from the Gases. “To not only come from the same small school of Otsego and to know her personally, is amazing.”
Digby played football with the Abby Gase's brothers and also baby-sat for Abby.
“I've known her since she was little and she's very confident and very determined in everything I've ever seen her do,” Digby said. “It's never slowed her down her at all. She was more active than most of the kids in her age group. She was always out playing. She is one of the more determined people I've ever met, and I've met a lot of determined people.”
DEVASTATING DIAGNOSIS
Abby Gase was a typical, high-energy toddler when she developed complications from a battle with pneumonia.
“She was 4 years old and she was at preschool and she was starting to fall down,” Bill Gase said. “The weekend before she had pneumonia, we thought she was recovering quite well from it. What we didn't realize was that her body was creating so many antibodies to fight off the pneumonia, they started to attack her myelin sheath on her spinal cord. That's what caused her the transverse myelitis. That eventually left her with no use of her left leg and partial use of her right leg.”
Gase said she was too young to recall getting sick. But Mary Gase said Abby's older brother Will, who became a standout football and basketball player at Otsego, still recalls the tough time period.
“He remembers Abby when she could run with him. They are only 20 months apart, so it was hard on him,” she said.
Two years after she was diagnosed, she watched as her brother began to excel at sports.
“She just sat there and wondered what she could do,” Mary said.
Yet Gase said it brought the family closer together. The family never ruled out sports for Abby. She first competed in baseball through the Miracle League of Northwest Ohio and started swimming at 9.
“The one thing is that we didn't baby her about the condition,” Bill said. “Her older brother did not give her a break at all. He pushed her. He didn't go out of his way to help accommodate her, and so she's learned how to do things.”
Sled hockey was a local option for disabled athletes. “But Abby hates cold weather,” her mother said, laughing.
So swimming became her passion.
“About three or four years later I decided to take it more seriously,” Abby said. “I went to compete at a higher stage.”
UNDERSTANDING NEIGHBORS
The Digbys, who happened to be family friends with the Gases, were in a unique situation to serve as sort of ambassadors for their neighbors.
“We wanted to show her the opportunities she could have in Paralympic,” A.J. Digby said. “We're both very blessed to have the full support of our families and all of the school. With some of the young kids watching us on TV, they see we have a physical disability — but anyone can do whatever they want if they set their mind to it.”
Digby, who is now a senior at Mount Union College where he runs track and is a student assistant coach with the football team, was born with a congenital disorder that led to the amputation of both feet. As a teenager, he began competing in sports using running blades. He placed fifth in the 200 and fourth in the 400 at Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
When Digby competed at the Paralympics in Rio, Abby suggested to her principal that the whole school should watch.
“Everyone got to watch him race. It's cool that A.J. is a Paralympian and I'm on that path, too,” she said. “He lives a mile from my house, and I don't think any other [Paralympic] athlete has that close of a connection. He guided me. Later on, he went to World's. I had to have knee surgery at the exact same time. So I sat at home, watching him race. It was cool watching him on that stage.”
Digby, who hopes to coach football in college, is focused on competing in the 100- and 400-meter running events at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. Abby hopes to join him there.
“When we have a physical disability, we're faced with an early decision,” Digby said. “Are we going to sit in the corner and pout and ask for empathy, or are we going to go out and make something for ourselves and show the world what people with disabilities can accomplish. We want to help the public understand the struggles and hardships but also how satisfying it is when you put in all that hard work and to see it pay off.
“I did what I could to show that. Abby has taken it to a whole new level. Hopefully, we can reach even more kids.”
SUPPORT SYSTEM
Mary Gase said Digby's success helped the Otsego community understand adaptive sports.
“They understand the Paralympics because A.J. has brought it to their attention,” she said. “When you live in this small of a community, that is not always the case. We're so lucky we've had A.J.”
Gase said she appreciates all the support from her family and in the community.
“Before my races everyone was texting me good luck,” she said.
The whole school watched Gase compete in Peru. Bill, Mary, and their youngest son Drew traveled to Peru and the family was there for two weeks.
When Abby was honored at halftime of Otsego's football game last Friday, Gordon Digby announced her achievements on the PA system.
“The sky is the limit for her,” Mary Gase said. “We live in the middle of nowhere. But Abby has a huge network. They've never looked at her disability. She's just been Abby.”
First Published September 14, 2019, 1:00 p.m.
