Against the odds, a Zephyrhills High School student is making quite the splash when it comes to competitive sports.
Taylor Sanders, 15, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant. She looks like your average high school kid, but she’s quite a different story than most.
“They actually told my mom I would never walk,” she said.
Despite her diagnosis, Taylor decided to teach herself to walk - but there were consequences.
“I taught myself how to walk on my tippy toes, so it deformed everything,” Taylor said. Since then, she has had to walk on braces to keep her ankles stable, but it hasn’t stopped her from trying competitive sports.
Taylor has played softball and soccer, but it wasn’t until last year she began doing what she really loves: swimming. And now she's doing it competitively.
“It takes the pressure off of my ankle and lets me just work with my muscles,” Taylor said.
When she was younger, her friends even coined the nickname tadpole. “And then when she got older, they started calling her mermaid, which fit because she had her surgeries and she wasn’t able to use her legs,” said Vanessa Sanders, Taylor’s mother.
Taylor only uses her upper body strength. She even took second in a heat race last year.
“From what I’ve seen with her, it makes me know that I can go farther,” said Hannah Cutkump, the swim team's captain.
That inspiration is felt through her community and swim team, or what she likes to call her family.
“She was put on earth for a reason, and I believe her reason is to spread that joy and that drive and encouragement for others to never give up,” Sanders said.
“If I didn’t have the drive that I do, I honestly do not think I would be walking,” Taylor said.
Taylor has had two major surgeries since November and had to wear a cast. When she finally got it off, she was in the pool the same day participating with her team.