FORWARD Series // Krista

I have two little boys who are the definition of little boys. They run and they play and they're dirty all the time, and not being able to physically keep up with them just really isn't an option. "You're just a little baby." "I'm not a baby!" "I know you're not a baby." I use that really as my main driving force nowadays to keep staying healthy and to keep having the surgeries and, you know, keep on this road to be able to stay active. I'm Krista Gwilliam. I serve as the Assistant Director for Fitness Programs. I basically oversee all of exercise programming for the university. At 14 months old, I was diagnosed with what's called a congenital hip dysplasia. And, basically what that means is I was born without a hip socket and without a head to my left femur. And then, my mom, who is a nurse, you know, I kind of walked with like a big sway and she was like, " Hmm, that's probably not right." It's not an uncommon thing to be born with, with babies, but typically doctors catch it at their newborn examination. The doctors originally told my parents I'd be lucky to walk. I would probably be in a wheelchair for most of my life. And so, told my parents to teach me to sew and all activities that are chair based. So, that was the original diagnosis. My first real big set of surgeries as a baby were osteotomy surgeries, so that's where they cut bone and basically try to reposition what I had. Every five to eight years, I'd have another round of osteotomy surgeries, where they would go back in and reposition and redirect all of my bones as I grew taller. When I was in grade school, after surgeries, my friends would push me around on just like the teacher chair, so I didn't have to be in a wheelchair all day. They were nice enough to roll me in a chair up and down the hallways and, you know, made everybody laugh, so, kind of, took the pressure off of, you know, being that kid, so... I had a big set of surgeries when I was in college, so I was walking around downtown on a cane on my twenty first birthday, but got a lot of sympathy out of that. They always told me you won't walk. You won't be able to play sports. You won't be able to be active in the ways that I've wanted to be or have always thought I would be. And so, for me in my life, had I not overcome those things, I would be a completely different person. I wouldn't be here at Virginia Tech. I wouldn't have my family. I wouldn't, you know, I wouldn't have this passion for health and exercise, like I do. "Just once. Just once is all it takes to get outside of your comfort zone, and that's what's going to get you a little bit stronger." I have learned how important it is and how much of a space I can create for other people to share their story when I share mine. And so, a lot of people will look at me and think that oh you work in exercise, you, you know, you've been active. Awesome, like easy for you, and little do they know how much I've had to go through to get here.

campus experience 3:49 FORWARD Series // Krista

By:

Christina Franusich

16 Jul 2019 447

When Recreational Sports' Assistant Director for Fitness Programs, Krista Gwilliam, was a toddler, her parents discovered she was suffering from undiagnosed congenital hip dysplasia. Her doctors told them that she would be in a wheelchair for most of her life, and most likely wouldn't be able to walk, play sports, or be active. This is Krista's story about how the lifelong challenges she's faced has shaped her passion for life and fitness, and why it's important to share stories of personal struggle with each other.

More from the FORWARD series: https://well-being.vt.edu/forward.html
Resources for Well-Being: https://well-being.vt.edu

Want to share your story? Give a shout to Tammy Tripp at ttripp [at] vt [dot] edu

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Produced by Virginia Tech Student Affairs Communications
🎥: Andrew Huang '19, Christina Franusich
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FORWARD is a series from Student Affairs featuring Virginia Tech students, faculty, staff, and alumni who have faced, overcome, or learned from life's obstacles and setbacks. FORWARD aims to normalize the conversation about hardships we endure and to encourage resilience.

Student Affairs Communications welcomes your stories of resiliency to be featured as part of the FORWARD Campaign.