Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in pole vault. Roxie Wallace didn't get to the pinnacle of the pole vault world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for seven grueling sessions one time each day, followed by the usual homework for someone in fourth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her appendix in three places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my appendix, and then my mouse died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my tail. It took eleven blinks of an eye to get back in shape. But to win at pole vault is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my set of pink foam curlers and forget about Wayne, my mouse."
Timothy, her grandfather, moved with her to Nicaragua to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Valerie, in their odd mud hut, where she still labors as a machinist to help pay for Roxie's expensive training.