A Brooklyn resident is proof that dreams do come true.
Eighteen-year-old Caitlin Sarubbi of Gerritsen Beach is legally blind and hearing-impaired and was born with a rare congenital syndrome that left her with a deformed mouth and facial appearance and without eyelids and body hair. Having undergone 56 reconstructive plastic surgeries to sculpt her face, Sarubbi has managed to not only lead a normal life, but achieve staggering success.
In June, she graduated from the Dominican Academy, a Catholic high school in Manhattan. She’ll attend Harvard University in the fall and just received a scholarship from the Jewish Guild for the Blind. To top it all off, she made the U.S. Disabled Ski Team and will likely compete in the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
In spite of overcoming incredible obstacles and having a list of accomplishments that could make any of her peers jealous, the teenager remains modest and grateful to others.
“I think that I was very lucky in life. I worked hard but there were a lot of miracles that happened. I’m just grateful for everything that I’ve been given,” she told this paper. “I didn’t die and now I’m going to Harvard and the Olympics.”
Sarubbi discovered skiing just seven years ago when her father, a New York City firefighter, was contacted by Disabled Sports USA which wanted to sponsor a firefighter in a skiing competition. The offer was extended to a firefighter’s child with a disability.
Sarubbi jumped at the chance to learn to ski and participated in various workshops to help her hone her skills quickly.
“I’ve been going to the camps for like two or three years now. The training and coaching really helps a lot,” she said.
The Jewish Guild for the Blind scholarship will help fund Sarubbi’s training, which will cost $75,000 this year.
The teen says her family is encouraging of her “expensive little hobby.”
“If it wasn’t for my parents, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now. They’ve been great. My sisters and brothers have been very supportive,” she said.
Sarubbi will put her skiing ambitions aside in September to begin her pre-med studies at Harvard. Then she’ll defer for a year and a half to train full-time with the U.S. Disabled Ski Team to prepare for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
While the team’s lineup for the competitions hasn’t been chosen yet, Sarubbi expects to ski in four Alpine categories. That means she has four shots to take home a gold medal.
“My standing now – I’m number five in the world,” she said. “I’m pretty much one of the only vision-impaired athletes they have right now so I’m going to go.”
Even with a hectic training schedule and upcoming pre-med studies, Sarubbi finds time to give back to her community.
For the last several years she’s worked with the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides services and resources to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to teach injured soldiers how to ski.
“I’ve been given so many gifts in my life that I think it’s important to give back and help others and give them gifts as well,” Sarubbi said.
