A fight to survive turns to gold; Teaneck gymnast taking quest to next level of Special Olympics

December 31, 2014, 10:26 PM Last updated: Thursday, January 1, 2015, 9:43 AM

At birth, Teanecks Alyssa Sims could fit snugly in her fathers hand she was about the size of his snow glove.

VIOREL FLORESCU/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Alyssa Sims, 30, of Teaneck is training for the 2015 World Special Olympics in Los Angeles.

Born 2 months premature by cesarean section, she had to fight for life from the moment of delivery. Sims and her mother suffered from a prenatal condition that came close to being fatal for both of them.

We were killing each other, said Renee Herriott, Sims mother.

As a result, Sims lungs and central nervous system didnt function properly, requiring a 2-month stay in the hospitals neonatal intensive care unit.

She developed cerebral palsy. But despite that, Herriott said, progress came quickly so much so that by the time Alyssa was a toddler, it was clear she would excel beyond the hopes of her loving and protective family.

They still pinch themselves at the thought that their tiny baby, now a 30-year-old woman, is a world-class Special Olympian.

As he watched his daughters wobbly balance on the uneven bars recently at Elite Gymnastics in Hawthorne, Rudolph Sims said: I remember when she didnt have the courage to do that. We were not expecting that she would do that well in gymnastics. It didnt seem practical, when she approached us about it. She blew us all away.

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A fight to survive turns to gold; Teaneck gymnast taking quest to next level of Special Olympics