Former Shriners Children’s Northern California Patient Gears Up for Paris Paralympic Games

Bethany Zummo has spent the last 14 years of her life perfecting her craft as a libero on the U.S. Women’s National Sitting Volleyball Team.

Zummo, a former Shriners Children’s Northern California patient, is no stranger to grit. She was born with proximal femoral focal deficiency and grew up going to Shriners Children’s to be fitted for her prosthetics. She said her condition has helped her become the player and person she is today as she prepares for her third Paralympic Games, this time in Paris.

“Growing up, I never let this condition stop me from what I wanted to do,” said Zummo. “It was a huge challenge throughout my childhood, and when I was little I didn’t want to know what people would think of me. As I’ve gotten older, I overcame it and embraced this about myself. When it comes to my life as an amputee, I've gone through my own journey of acceptance and embracing myself as a human. I've completely shifted the way I view my leg and know that I am not less of a person because I have less of a body.”

Zummo received a Symes leg amputation when she was 2 at Shriners Children’s Northern California. She said going to get a new prosthetic as her body grew during her childhood wasn’t a stressful process for her. “It was always the best day of the week being able to go to Shriners Children’s for an appointment,” said Zummo. “It was always a big deal to get a new leg, but it was my childhood and it was normal to me. I would go and hang out with the doctors, play pool in the game room and play on the playground. I'm so thankful for my doctors for helping my parents decide this was the best choice for me. Because of my parents' decision to do the amputation instead of the limb lengthening route, I was able to grow up and run around and be just like other kids. I had a prosthetist who always told me they wanted me to play. I remember him saying, ‘If you break it, we’ll make you another one. We can always fix a leg.’ Everyone at the hospital wanted me to be a kid.”