ANAHEIM : Teen Excels in Spite of Disability

Isis Zuniga wheeled into the back of her Dale Junior High School history class Monday morning and scarcely a head was raised.

Age 14 and a quadriplegic, Isis looked on as her class read aloud a play about railroad labor strife in the 1890s. When it came time for the class to sing the workers’ anthem, “Solidarity Forever,” she whispered along as the respirator attached to her $250,000 wheelchair hissed softly.

Until January, Isis had been out of school for three years, ever since she was left paralyzed from the neck down during surgery to remove a brain tumor. She now attends Dale three hours a day and, after excelling in her classwork, she is set to graduate from eighth grade Friday.

“I’m more positive and more happy since I came back to school,” Isis said. “When I was at home, there were no other kids in wheelchairs. Here (at Dale) it’s not just me, and it makes me feel good to know I’m not the only one.”

Since returning to school, Isis has not missed a day. In fact, she said, she hates the weekends, when she has to stay home. “I get lonely,” she said. “My sisters get to go out and play, and I can’t.”

Isis’ school day begins at 9 a.m. when a special Anaheim Union High School District bus drops her and nurse Brita Palomino, her constant school-day companion, at Dale. She first meets with Nancy Malotte, her special education teacher, before heading to her history class. She also takes a physical science class and receives tutoring in English and math before going home at noon.

“I have never had a more eager student,” Malotte said. “She has tremendous courage and perseverance and is very strong-willed. That’s why she has been so successful. She is the most severely disabled student we have ever had here. Her success has been a great inspiration to the (70) other special students.”

In addition to the bus, Malotte said, the school has made some special preparations for Isis. For example, she must have oxygen for her respirator and special food that is pumped into her abdomen. The school has a three-day supply on hand in case an earthquake keeps her from going home.

Also, Malotte went to each of Isis’ classes before Isis arrived and explained her condition to the students and that they should treat her as they would any other classmate. Palomino and other students hold books and write for her.

Isis lives near downtown Anaheim with her father, Pedro, an Anaheim Convention Center laborer, mother Rosa and twin 11-year-old sisters, Hulda and Merit, who help her with her homework. Her father’s insurance and some state funding pay for Isis’ care.

Rosa Zuniga, a homemaker, said she was scared when Isis returned to school, but she is afraid no more.

“When she started, I felt like the whole world would fall on me, but now we have more courage,” she said. “It is because of (Isis’) courage mostly. . . . I think she can accomplish anything she wants to do.”

Since her illness, Isis has begun painting, using a brush that she maneuvers with her mouth. She has also started saving for college and hopes to one day be a fashion designer.

But until then, she says she is glad to be back in school and making friends.

“I don’t feel uncomfortable with the other kids,” she said. “They come and talk to me. I feel like a regular kid then.”