SEATTLE —
An eleven-year-old girl says she's inspired by the University of Washington softball players, but the athletes say they are inspired by her. This mutual respect is thanks to a shared experience.
Olivia Vitello has a genetic disorder that requires weekly enzyme replacement therapy. This means that for the last five years, she’s gone to the hospital for treatments every single week.
“At the beginning when I first started out, I was really scared of the thought of going to the hospital and needles but now it’s not that scary and needles because my nurses are great,” she said.
She was at Seattle Children’s Hospital when the UW softball team came for a visit, with clean white cleats in hand. The players had the kids sign and decorate their shoes.
Olivia met players SilentRain Espinoza and Megan Vandergrift, and signed the cleats. She added small pictures of silly things she loves, like pizza, then wrote her family’s motto on each of their shoes.
“I can and I will.”
The athletes said this meeting was a reminder of their health.
“Our hard days aren’t as hard as we think they actually are so being able to see how strong she has been through her whole process, knowing that whatever comes up in our lives, we can work through it because she’s been through so much worse,” said Vandergrift.
“The abilities we have with our bodies that some people don’t have really put in perspective in our everyday life and make us not take it for granted,” echoed Espinoza.
Olivia, who recently started playing softball, formed a bond with the athletes. She had already been a fan of UW softball, but with her new friendships, became even more of a fan.
The team invited her onto the field during the National Anthem at Saturday’s game, then she sat front row and cheered them on in the rain, decked out in layers of UW apparel while they wore the shoes she signed.
The team went on to win the game, 10-4.