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Mike Miazga |
Kyle Morgan is one tough guy.
The 20-year-old Scottsdale, Ariz. resident and huge AVP fan has faced some
rather extreme obstacles in his life.
Morgan was born with the rare Marshall-Smith Syndrome, a skeletal disorder
that leaves bones very susceptible to fractures. When he was born, there were
less than 15 documented cases of the syndrome. Information on the syndrome
was sparse because the other children with the ailment died before their
second birthdays.
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Kyle Morgan with AVP stars Misty May-Treanor and Casey Jennings at the 2005 Hermosa Beach Open. |
The syndrome also wreaked havoc on his spine through the course of his
childhood years. To alleviate the pain, Morgan made the gut-wrenching
decision at the age of 17 to have a cordectomy performed—the cutting of
the spinal cord. The procedure was done at waist level, meaning Morgan can no
longer feel his legs.
"That's an incredibly courageous decision for anybody to make," said his
mom, Karen. "But now he is basically pain-free."
Morgan, a huge Arizona Diamondbacks baseball fan, also survived a harrowing
illness (at one point it was considered life-threatening) that kept him
hospitalized for six weeks in early 2004.
But in a carbon copy of his earlier life, Morgan took the hand that was
dealt to him and laid down 21 on the table once again.
"Kyle has an incredible spirit and strength," said Karen Morgan.
"Self-pity is not in his vocabulary."
What is in his vocabulary is his love for the AVP. Morgan, who has two
sisters (Carly, 16, and Kelly, 21), has been a fan of the beach game dating
back to the 2000 Olympics (his father, Mike's affinity with the sport goes
back even earlier than that).
Morgan was invited by the AVP to attend last year's Best of the Beach event
in Hawaii. Morgan couldn't make it, ironically enough because he had just
returned from a vacation there.
But Morgan was front and center at the AVP Tempe stop this year and also
attended the Hermosa Beach event where he came away with one heck of a
souvenir: Misty May-Treanor's championship trophy.
"Blown away would be putting it mildly," said Karen Morgan, who said the
family will be in Hawaii this year at the same time as the Best of the Beach
event. "On the way back to the hotel we were looking at each other like, 'can
you believe it?' I've never seen that kind of warmth and openness from a star
athlete to one of their fans. It was completely overwhelming. Misty giving
her trophy to Kyle…it's not every day that you see that from an athlete
that has been to the Olympics and is so accomplished in her field."
Kyle Morgan is accomplished in an important field as well.
He's accomplished in the field of life—living every day to its
fullest with unending spirit and zest.
Mike Miazga
Editor in Chief
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