With no legs, Forest Hills Northern athlete runs without limits

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A track runner’s legs can take them all over the world, but Jerrensia Kroll doesn’t have any.

Yet, she’s taking herself, her family and the Forest Hills Northern community to places they never knew to be possible.

“Jerrensia’s taken us on an adventure that we never would have expected,” Jen Kroll, Jerrensia’s mom, said. “When you have a child in your home that has such significant disabilities, you don’t think you’re ever going to get to cheer her on from the sidelines as she runs a race.”

The race to this point has been long, even though Jerrensia is only 14. She was born with significant joint issues that severely limited her mobility. When her biological dad died in the Haiti earthquake in 2010, her biological mother knew she couldn’t care for Jerrensia on her own, so she had to give her up to an orphanage. There, she met Jen and Jay Kroll.

“We went to Haiti after the earthquake to do relief work and ended up at her orphanage, where we actually weren’t supposed to go,” Jen Kroll said. “We knew that we couldn’t just walk away and pretend that we hadn’t met her.”

So, the Krolls brought 14-month-old Jerrensia to Michigan on a medical visa. They thought she would get the help she needed, then she would go back to Haiti to be adopted. But some things are just meant to be.

“We got her here and realized her medical needs were a lot more complex than we thought they were going to be,” Jen Kroll said. “That started a four-year, 11-month journey to actually finalize the adoption.”

During that process, Jerrensia needed her legs amputated. She was just 4 years old.

“I remember just breathing through that surgery and not knowing what life would look like for her,” Jen Kroll said. “We didn’t know if she would walk.”

The uncertainty never stopped the Krolls from letting Jerrensia pursue her dreams, including running track.

“They said, ‘Awesome. Let’s sign up,'” Jerrensia said.

Her energy for life is contagious, and it spread to her whole team. Then, before her first race in the 70-meter dash, every member of the team crowded the track to support Jerrensia.

“I tried to make sure, at that point especially, in her first race she was ever going to do, that she knew how welcomed she was and how amazing she was,” Forest Hills Northern head track and field coach Jeff Dunn said. “All of us coaches, myself included, tried to get everybody lined up and make sure that this is a big step for her.”

Their support and motivation worked.

“I was about to quit, but some people cheered and more people started to cheer, and I love that,” Jerrensia said. “I love this school.”

Her mom was in the stands to support, but had no clue Jerrensia would actually run that day.

“My little mom heart just exploded,” Jen Kroll said. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness. I can’t believe this is happening.’ I turned around and all the moms are crying, and moms I didn’t know are hugging me. It was pretty special for me, too.”

Every race since, Jerrensia’s teammates lined up to support her run the 70, and the support grew beyond her own team. Kids from the other schools at the track meets also supported her and gave her high-fives after a race well run.

“People said don’t give up and let dreams go on,” Jerrensia said.

She reciprocates the support.

“She lifts up all of our spirits when we’re there because she makes jokes and she’s so encouraging to everybody,” Jerrensia’s teammate Eliana Wondergem said. “If we do a bad throw, she’s just like, ‘You’ll get it next time.’ It’s just really fun to be with her.”

“It’s just so cool how she has so much perseverance and just keeps going all the way and never gives up,” teammate Jaclyn Charbauski said. “It’s amazing.”

As Jerrensia goes to high school next year, her goals are growing with her.

“I’m trying to get faster,” Jerrensia said.

And her family fully believes her athletic career will last through high school.

“As long as she wants,” Jen Kroll said. “She’s so physically active. She is going to be her only limitation and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

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