Wish Book: Partially paralyzed teen finds new… – The Mercury News

SAN JOSE — Mariah Serratos shows little emotion when recounting the terrifying day that still makes little sense.

The day she suddenly could no longer walk.

But in a quiet moment, the soft-spoken teenager lets go while explaining how the wheelchair game of Power Soccer has given her direction.

“It meant a lot just to play it again,” the one-time goalkeeper said.

Then came silence — followed by tears.

“It reminds me of the past a little bit.”

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Four years ago, Mariah was a happy-go-lucky sixth-grader who played for San Jose’s Central Valley Magic. Soccer was her thing since following cousins onto the pitch as a 3 ½-year-old.

Mariah told her parents, Sylvia and Juan Serratos, that she wanted to play for the Santa Clara University Broncos one day.

Everything changed a week after she turned 12. Mariah recalled feeling tingling in her legs while she was in class at Hoover Middle School. She asked a friend to kick her to “wake” them up.

Suddenly, the frightened girl couldn’t stand. At first, physicians thought she suffered from Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. They eventually determined that Mariah had suffered a stroke, an uncommon condition for a child. Her parents still don’t know why it happened. 

Even with the diagnosis, everything at first seemed as if it were going to be OK. She even played for the Magic the next weekend. But three days later, Mariah had to return to Valley Medical Center and has not walked since. The Lincoln High-San Jose sophomore is partially paralyzed.

Sylvia Serratos says she has had more trouble accepting the condition than her upbeat daughter. But Mariah gets wistful on occasion.

 “Sometimes when she goes for the ball now, she feels like kicking it,” Sylvia Serratos said. 

Power Soccer has offered a new avenue for Mariah, who once participated in Mexican folk dancing and tae kwon do. She is in her third season with the San Jose Flash, a developmental team from the Far West Wheelchair Athletic Association, a nonprofit group associated with the San Jose Parks and Recreation Department.

The Flash is one of about 60 Power Soccer teams playing nationally. Most Saturdays from September to June, Flash players practice at the Bascom Community Center’s indoor basketball court when not competing in tournaments.

The sport was created in France in 1979 with the San Jose Steamrollers debuting in the ’80s as one of the first American programs. San Jose now also fields the Rockets and Flash because of increased demand.  

The game resembles a truncated version of soccer and ice hockey with four-person teams operating electric-powered chairs equipped with thick, metal guard rails. The players use the rails to spin-kick an oversize ball.

The sport is not affiliated with FIFA, soccer’s umbrella organization, or the Paralympics. But the international governing body FIPFA — the P for powerchair — holds World Cups every four or so years with the third tournament scheduled next summer in Florida. The U.S. national team won the first two titles.

Mariah, now 15, hopes to eventually play on the international stage, but she needs the right equipment. After the medical expenses they have incurred, her family cannot afford to buy her a high-performance wheelchair that could help her reach her goal.

“When she got hurt we had $500 in our account,” said Sylvia Serratos, a substitute teacher with San Jose Unified School District. Juan Serratos, 42, is a maintenance worker for a real estate management company.

Mariah’s coaches at the Far West Wheelchair Athletic Association hope Wish Book readers will help her family buy a Strike Force chair, along with a trailer to tow it, to replace the borrowed sports wheelchair she uses. 

“It’s a common, everyday chair we made work for her,” Flames coach Chris Faria said.

Mariah was at a disadvantage during October games at the Bascom Community Center where the Flames competed in an all-day tournament. With her parents, brother and sister, grandmother, and cousins in attendance, the teen couldn’t stay with those driving chairs that accelerated quickly.

The situation didn’t stop Flames assistant coach Sam Aguirre from shouting a stream of instructions from the bench.

“We treat them as athletes, not disabled athletes,” he said. “They want to get better. We have that football mentality.”

Mariah is dedicated to improving. Faria, the Flash coach, recalled how the teen recently found a way to get to practice although her mother had to go to a hospital. Coaches see real promise for Mariah because of her strong soccer background and leadership qualities.

“She can stop everything and explain tactics,” said Faria, who also plays for the Steamrollers. “She’s 15 and has a unique vision of the game.”

Power soccer participants have varying conditions, such as quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury. But backgrounds don’t matter when working toward a common goal.

“I feel there is a connection between us,” said Mariah, whose experience inspired her to pursue a college education that someday will allow her to help those in need.

The sophomore also is a budding trumpeter who plays in Lincoln’s concert and pep bands and wants to join a mariachi band. She takes chemistry, English and geometry among her classes and still wants to attend Santa Clara University. Next on the list is joining a computer science club.

“I like to keep myself busy,” Mariah said.

She also plans to continue with Power Soccer with the goal of playing for the Steamrollers, San Jose’s premier team.  But if Mariah can’t reach the World Cup, there’s always the possibility of becoming a Paralympic weightlifter. She lifts two or three times a week.

“I want to have more strength to push and be more independent,” the teen said.

Mariah made her wheelchair racing debut this year at the 408K Race to the Row in San Jose.

Mom knows just how determined her daughter can be.

“If she loves something, she’ll be at it,” Sylvia Serratos said.

How to Help

Donations will go toward an $8,500 Strike Force wheelchair so Mariah Serratos can play soccer, and $2,000 for a small trailer to tow it behind the family’s car.