Age: 10
Hometown: Tangent, OR
Diagnosis: Cloacal anomaly
Shoe: Nike Air Max SNDR
Quin wants you to know that while she may be tiny, she’s also strong. Not only does this adventurous girl love to hike and fearlessly ascend climbing walls, but she has also endured more than a fair share of medical challenges.
As Quin describes it, “When I was three, my parents took me to Doernbecher to find out why my body didn’t work like other kids’.” Turns out, Quin was born with a rare defect of her bladder and gastrointestinal system that would require several major surgeries to correct.
“Quin withstood it all like a champ,” said her doctor, Casey Seideman, M.D. “Even after an all-day surgery to reconstruct her bladder, she still had a smile on her face. She’s just absolute sunshine.”
That sunny personality is evident on her Air Max SNDR. “I wanted to make the happiest shoe I could think of,” Quin explained. She describes the splatter print on the upper as “splashes of joy and power,” while the spikey mudguard is a nod to her love of dragons. Her name lives on the tongue, and just in case you need a reminder, the words Tiny But Strong can be found on the inner part of the tongue.
As Quin looks ahead, she dreams of becoming a writer and traveling to distant lands (Turkey is at the top of her list). But she’s also a big fan of living in the moment and enjoying the newfound independence her medical team has given her.
“They’ve done miracles for me. They’ve made my life amazing — the best it could be.”
Quin
