Britney Palmero has limited use of the right side of her body as the result of childhood illnesses, but she has gone beyond her doctors' expectations and turned her hobby of bowling into something special.

Palmero -- a starter on the Palmetto bowling team, which is undefeated and looking to improve upon last season's fifth-place finish at state -- placed seventh at the GMAC tournament.

She started bowing when she was 11, and it is now her passion.

``I love it,'' she said. ``It is amazing!''

Palmero had a pediatric stroke at birth, and at age 7 she was diagnosed with epilepsy.

``She was a bright, smiling baby, but couldn't crawl or speak; she had no use of her right side,'' said Palmero's mother, Mary Jane.

Doctors didn't know what was wrong with her for a year and thought she might never walk or talk. The American Stroke Association said childhood strokes are uncommon and differ from adult strokes in treatment and aftereffcts.

``We didn't know if she was going to be able to walk or talk,'' said Palmero's father, Manny.

Britney had serious seizures and the loss of many motor skills, and slow speech development. It took years of physical, occupational and speech therapy before Palmero was seizure-free.

``We are very proud of her; she has overcome many obstacles,'' Manny said.

``Off the medication now for the past three years, she hasn't had a seizure in seven, but she still only has limited use of her right arm.''

Said Mary Jane: ``It is nearly unnoticeable when she is bowling. I want other parents to know that you shouldn't give up. It is incredible to see her now. She is always smiling, and her teammates have been an inspiration to her. I believe they push her even more to succeed.''

Palmetto is led by Melissa Covert, who has a 193 average -- the highest average in the district -- and is the top girl bowler in the county.

Covert, Palmero, Megan Hopper, Erin Petit and Kristen Haller are returning starters from last year's team that finished 11-0, won its district and finished fifth at state.

Petit has a 160 average, Hopper a 157, Haller a 130 and Palmero a 137. Palmetto recently defeated Ferguson, Varela and won the GMAC Championship. Covert has had the high series in each match this season. Palmetto is headed to the district tournament at 9 a.m. Monday at Bird Bowl.

Palmero is in her second year as a starter, and she has adapted her own technique to bowling.

``At the GMAC, she shot her highest game -- a 208 -- and in her spirit, and heart, she wants to win,'' Palmetto coach Chris Hirth said. ``Britney is the jell that holds the team together.''

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@