Pursleys prepare to swim on a national stage

PARKERSBURG - Every parent has dreams for their children.

When Jim and Sheila Pursley learned their twin daughters Sheri and Staci had Down syndrome, they didn't let those dreams diminish. They were just altered.

Beginning Monday, July 19, in Lincoln, Neb., it will be an emotional time as Sheri and Staci Pursley continue to live out those dreams and compete in the National Special Olympic Games on the University of Nebraska campus.

Joining the family on their drive to the Midwest will be Cheryl Harbour, who is the Wood County Special Olympics aquatic coach. Harbour is a special needs teacher at Martin School and will be charperoning the girls during the week-long competition.

"The atmosphere is overwhelming at the National Special Olympics," Harbour said. "I feel very honored to be a part of this because Sheri and Staci are that good."

This year marks the second appearance on the national level for Sheri and Staci. Four years ago, they combined for five gold medals and one silver at Iowa State University in Ames and brought back many memories as well as various state pins.

"We danced almost every night," Harbour said. "The girls love to dance and socialize, and they enjoyed themselves."

This time around, Sheri and Staci are the only two representatives from Wood County and among 19 individuals from the entire state of West Virginia.

Once the girls were selected to participate, the Pursleys needed just a month to raise the funds to cover traveling costs.

"We owe a lot to our family and friends," Jim Pursley said. "We also received support from Parks Hardware, Douglas Builders and Stratagraph."

According to the National Down Syndrome Society, there are more than 400,000 people living with Down syndrome in the United States. Jim and Sheila remember that particular weekend 21 years ago when the girls went in for their 1-year-old checkup and found out their daughters had Down syndrome.

"By then they were crawling; they were starting to pull themselves up and they were even saying some words," Sheila said. "They were behind, but the doctor kept telling us it was because they were twins.

"They had their checkup on a Friday and the doctor proceeded to ask me if anybody had ever said anything about the way the girls looked."

The family was supposed to make an appoinment with a genetics specialist for six weeks later. Instead, when the family returned home on that particular Friday, a genetics counselor told the parents to have the girls in Morgantown the following Monday.

"We've looked at this as a double blessing," Jim said. "They've never caused us any problems. We've always treated them like a normal kid."

Sheri and Staci possess the energy and ethusiasm of any typical 22 year old. They enjoy listening to music and exercising on the stationary bike at their home in Parkersburg. Their favorite food is pizza.

One of their favorite activities is bowling.

They began swimming 12 years ago -following in the footsteps of their older sister, Stephanie.

Their father, who serves as an assistant on the Parkersburg South High School swim team, handles a majority of the training.

"Jim is like a regular swim team coach -he treats them just as if he were coaching at South and the girls understand completely," Harbour said. "What I try to do is give the positive reinforcement. I also give a lot of hugs."

Pre-lims begin Monday, first for Staci in the 100-yard freestyle followed by Sheri in the 100-yard backstroke. On Tuesday, Staci competes in both the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke. On Wednesday, Sheri swims the 200 backstroke, 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, while Staci competes in the 100 freestyle.

"These two girls are the best representation for the state of West Virginia," Harbour said. "They are the cream of the crop. They will be right in the thick of the competition."