Gentry defensive coordinator Daniel Ramsey has dialed up a few blitzes in his day but nothing like the blindside he and his wife Melinda experienced with their daughter's birth.
Mekalah, now 17 and having just completed her junior year at Gentry High School, was born with Down Syndrome and her parents never saw this coming. Ultrasounds and checkups during pregnancy revealed no indication anything might be out of the ordinary. Three healthy sons had been born to their union and there were no complications during labor, yet, presented along with their beautiful baby girl came a host of unexpected challenges.
"We were really shocked when she was born. Usually that [Down Syndrome] happens with older couples but we were real young," Melinda Ramsey said. "We are strong Christians so that's helped. Without our faith I don't know how we'd get through it but with our faith we could see things in a bigger picture."
Melinda thinks it was a blessing that Mekalah was the youngest and that all of her siblings were brothers because as she explains boys are not so nurturing as girls and they just expected Mekalah to do things.
"We didn't limit her expectations. We celebrated milestones," Melinda said.
A medical professional told Daniel and Melinda that Mekalah would never be able to go to the prom or experience some social settings. Yet, they chose to put their faith in all things are possible to those who believe and Mekalah continues to discover opportunity.
"The [April 25] weekend was Gentry's prom and she's getting to go," Melinda said. "I think the big thing is never limiting her ability and always allowing her ability to shine through."
The compassion of athletes and coaches have enhanced Mekalah's life. Gentry volunteer assistant high school coach Danny Corter coached Mekalah in recreational league and remembers her as timid and withdrawn. He now sees her coming out of her shell as the Gentry softball team and opposing players embrace her.
This past season, the Pioneers established a team tradition of having Mekalah take the last at-bat in each junior varsity game with the cooperation of opponents, something Prairie Grove coach Dustin Beck agreed to twice during the 2015 season.
"It was [Gentry head softball] coach Lance Nation's idea, but I'm fully onboard with it," Corter said. "The girls on the other teams have been so great, coming out to take photos with her. She tells us all the time she's famous cause she's on Facebook and everybody knows who she is."
What the family has witnessed thus far during this softball season has Melinda smiling.
"Seeing how the girls have taken her in and seeing that loving spirit is a blessing."
Prairie Grove's Emily Kruse was the junior varsity pitcher, who soft tossed to Mekalah.
"It took her [Mekalah] two or three pitches to get it together, it was a few pitches," Beck said. "We let her hit and got her an [in the park] home run and let her score. It was kind of a neat deal."
Beck looked back at an 2014 game incident in basketball when Prairie Grove was the beneficiary of an opponent's sportsmanship.
"We had that deal with McKay [Gregson] and Farmington last year," Beck said, referring to Farmington's Jeremy Mueller rebounding a miss by Gregson, during the latter's senior season on Feb. 14, 2014, and tossing the basketball back to Gregson, who fired up a second shot in the nick of time to score his first high school varsity 3-point career field goal just before the final horn. Gregson is a special needs player affected by 22-Q-11 Deletion Syndrome -- 22Q for short, described as a deficiency in the 22nd chromosome that can present a wide variety of health issues and complicate learning and social interaction for those affected and the second-chance 3-pointer became the highlight of his four years of high school.
Mekalah was equally delighted with her in-the-park home run.
"It was nice to get to see that little girl have her moment," Beck said. "The [Prairie Grove] girls all enjoyed it."
MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE ENTERPRISE-LEADER.
Sports on 07/01/2015