A Texas teen with a rare condition dreams of being an NFL coach. Now she's a Shrine Bowl ambassador
Libbie Lambert was born with arthrogryposis, a rare muscle disorder that causes stiff joints and abnormal muscle development.
By Evan MacDonald,Staff writerFeb 1, 2024
Libbie Lambert puts a harness on her dog, Roux, as she gets ready for a walk on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024 in Seabrook. Lambert, 16, is the ambassador for this year's East-West Shrine Bowl, a college football all-star game, in the Dallas area on Feb. 1. She has arthrogryposis, a disease that affects the joints, and was unable to walk on her own until she got treatment at Shriner's Children's Texas in Galveston. She's now able to walk, swim, play softball and volleyball, and is even preparing to learn to drive.Brett Coomer/Staff photographer
College football players hoping for careers in the NFL will be the center of attention at the East West Shrine Bowl on Thursday, but Libbie Lambert also dreams of joining them on the sidelines.
The Seabrook teen, 16, is a football fanatic who hopes to coach in the NFL someday. It’s a lofty goal for any prospective coach — and one that may have seemed unattainable when Libbie was born with arthrogryposis, a rare muscle disorder that causes stiff joints and abnormal muscle development.
When Libbie’s parents, Shelly and Stephen Lambert, adopted her from China in 2011, doctors warned she may never walk or live independently. Thanks to treatment at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Galveston, though, she’s now able to walk, swim, and play softball, volleyball and flag football.
Libbie Lambert poses for a portrait with her dog, Roux, outside her home on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024 in Seabrook. Lambert, 16, is the ambassador for this year's East-West Shrine Bowl, a college football all-star game, in the Dallas area on Feb. 1. She has arthrogryposis, a disease that affects the joints, and was unable to walk on her own until she got treatment at Shriner's Children's Texas in Galveston. She's now able to walk, swim, play softball and volleyball, and is even preparing to learn to drive.Brett Coomer/Staff photographer
Libbie is an ambassador for Shriners Children’s, sharing her story to inspire other children and families living with her condition. It’s in that role that she’ll get to experience the East West Shrine Bowl, the annual college football All-Star game that has benefited Shriners Children’s since 1925. She also participated in events leading up to the game at the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility in Frisco.
Libbie Lambert poses for a portrait with her dog, Roux, outside her home on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024 in Seabrook. Lambert, 16, is the ambassador for this year's East-West Shrine Bowl, a college football all-star game, in the Dallas area on Feb. 1. She has arthrogryposis, a disease that affects the joints, and was unable to walk on her own until she got treatment at Shriner's Children's Texas in Galveston. She's now able to walk, swim, play softball and volleyball, and is even preparing to learn to drive.Brett Coomer/Staff photographer
“This is my chance,” Libbie said. “I could see some players, maybe some coaches, and just tell them how much I love football.”
Arthrogryposis is actually a blanket term to describe a variety of conditions that involve stiff joints and abnormal muscle development. It can affect the wrists, hands, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles, and in most cases, both the arms and legs are involved.
“In the broadest sense, it means they’ll have joints that are stiff,” said Dr. John Ferris, an orthopedic surgeon at Shriners Children’s.
The condition is uncommon, affecting 1in 3,000 live births. But Shriners Children’s Texas specializes in treating arthrogryposis; Ferris has treated a half-dozen children with the condition in the past month alone.
Libbie had a series of surgeries and other procedures after her parents adopted her from China when she was 3 years old. That treatment helped her walk by the time she was 4. Today, she loves to play sports, cook with her parents in the kitchen, and beat her family and friends at pingpong.
She’s even looking forward to learning to drive now that she’s 16. Shriners Children’s is helping her by giving her a prescription to see a specialist who will help her get behind the wheel.
“Seeing other people do things, I’m, like, ‘Oh, I want to try that,’” Libbie said. “I’m going to be determined. I’m going to learn.”
‘This is our girl’
Shelly and Stephen Lambert first considered adoption in the early 2000s after they attended a Christian music concert where the artist talked about adopting from China. They had a son, Owen, before they opted to adopt around 2010.
When the adoption agency gave the Lamberts a stack of files for children who were up for adoption, the Lamberts decided to look through them separately. Shelly and Stephen each chose Libbie.
“Looking at her, I just felt instantly like, ‘This is our girl,’” Shelly Lambert said. “I didn’t even look at any more files.”
The Lamberts had agreed to consider children with preexisting medical conditions, and they believed Libbie had club foot. When they got to China, though, they learned it was something else.
It’s unclear what causes arthrogryposis, though it’s thought to be related to the baby not having enough room to grow in the uterus or low amniotic fluid, Ferris said.
“Not being able to move affects the development where the joints end up being stiff,” he said.
Libbie was born with feet that were bent in such a way that she was unable to stand on her own. She was also unable to bend her fingers, so she couldn’t feed herself. Doctors in China were unable to name the condition, but they told the Lamberts that it was unclear if Libbie would ever be able to walk or live independently.
The adoption agency offered the Lamberts the chance to consider another child. They refused.
“We didn’t care,” Shelly Lambert said. “We thought, ‘This is our girl, and we’ll figure it out.’”
Finding hope at Shriners
When the Lamberts returned to the U.S., they brought Libbie to several doctors, searching for a name for her condition. They got an answer almost as soon as they walked in the door at Shriners Children’s Texas.
“It was like immediate hope,” Shelly Lambert said. “They just said, ‘She’s going to do everything we do. It may look different. She might do it her own way. But she’s going to be fine.’”
Doctors in China told the Lamberts that Libbie had surgeries on her feet and ankles before she was adopted. The Shriners team opted for additional surgeries, as well as physical and occupational therapy.
“The general sense is that when things are stiff, you have to try to get them moving,” Ferris said. “And so massage and physical therapy is really the fundamental starting block for everything.”
Libbie had more surgery on her feet and ankles when she was 4 years old, with the doctors correcting the angle of her feet so she could stand. Shortly after surgery, she was able to walk on her own for the first time.
“It wasn’t pretty, but she was walking. And she was so proud of it,” Shelly Lambert said.
Libbie had eight or nine procedures over the years, the final one when she was 13. Many of them were stretching and casting, a common treatment for arthrogryposis that involves stretching a tendon to improve movement and holding it in place with a cast.
“I got used to that,” Libbie remembers. “I knew that they were checking up on me to know how I was doing.”
A Shriners ambassador
Ever since Libbie has been able to walk, she’s wanted to do “everything,” Shelly Lambert said.
The first time Libbie wanted to ride a go-kart, her mother was hesitant. Her father wanted to let her try, though, and Libbie was able to give it a go.
“She’s taught me to be less fearful, to try new things,” Shelly Lambert said. “It’s very inspiring.”
Libbie can’t bend her fingers or her ankles, so writing or climbing a flight of stairs can be difficult. But she still insists on writing down information in her classes at her high school, where she serves as a manager for the football and basketball teams.
She’s been a massive college football and NFL fan since she started watching University of Michigan games with her grandparents, who are alumni. She was thrilled to see the Wolverines win the national title this month and is looking forward to seeing several Michigan players compete in the East West Shrine Bowl.
She’s also planning to continue to serve as an ambassador for Shriners Children’s. In the past few years, Libbie has represented the hospital at the Shriners Children’s Open, a PGA Tour golf tournament in Las Vegas, and the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic basketball tournament in South Carolina.
She hopes that by sharing her story, she’ll be able to inspire other children like her.
“(Shriners) gave me the hope to know that I’m in good hands,” Libbie said. “I don’t have to worry about what’s coming up next.”
Texas teen Libbie Lambert named Shrine Bowl ambassador (houstonchronicle.com)
God bless adoptive parents - especially those who adopt those with medical conditions - and God bless the Shriners hospitals. I give to them every month and intend to for the rest of my life. |
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