Dakota Nesbitt has been a battler her entire life. The soon-to-be 10-year-old from Manheim Township was born with spinabifida, but that hasn’t stopped her from becoming a national champion in the wheelchair track races at the Junior Para Nationals.
She is the daughter of Drew and Amanda Nesbitt. Her success has led her to having the goal of being a Paralympian.
Nineteen weeks pregnant Amanda went for an ultrasound to learn the gender of the baby. The ultrasound revealed the baby to be a girl. It also raised some red flags, quickly leading to the unborn infant being diagnosed with spina bifida.
Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don't form properly. The birth defect can lead to a range of lifelong cognitive, mobility, urinary and bowel disabilities.
Dakota has weathered prenatal surgery and spent the first seven weeks of her life at Penn State Health Hershey Children’s Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.
She later underwent surgery at 6 months old to correct hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the cavities deep within the brain that can cause brain damage.
Dakota has weakness and paralysis in spots throughout her legs. Thanks to daily hours of therapy with her father, a physical therapist, she now walks on her own, aided by a brace she wears on her right foot and ankle. She sometimes uses a wheelchair when traveling long distances.
The game changer for Dakota came in 2021, when, at age 6, she was introduced to parasports. She got involved with the Baltimore-based Bennett’s Blazer with wheelchair basketball and other programs.
That led to her stellar performance at the 2023 Hartford Junior Para Nationals, where she won five titles – 60 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters and 800 meters – in the Under-11 T54 Classification.
Her daily swims at Universal Athletic Club enabled her to be a qualifying competitor in the 25-meter breaststroke at the same games in the S10 category.
