Soccer a guiding beacon for Northview's determined Meyer-Crothers

Sep. 19--As the daunting medical challenges mounted for Northview junior Jonah Meyer-Crothers, soccer became the ultimate source of inspiration for the determined young athlete.

Born to a drug-addicted mother, Meyer-Crothers had a stroke at birth. To combat the effects of cerebral palsy, Jonah also was essentially born with a soccer ball at his feet.

"He is a miracle," said Jonah's adoptive mother Joni Meyer-Crothers. "There is no other explanation with all that he has been up against. Soccer was 100 percent the motivator. He wanted to be out there on the field. That is life to him, soccer. That is what he knows."

The thrill and speed of the sport also provided a beacon of hope when at age 13 Jonah faced the devastating prospects of having open-heart surgery.

"My first memory was being in a doctor's office and they said to help with the cerebral palsy, I needed a ball at my feet because that will train my legs and my brain at the same time," Jonah said. "Ever since then I've played soccer and that has helped me get through life."

The Meyer-Crothers family of Sylvania adopted Jonah when he was 5 days old.

"His mom was shooting up drugs in the parking lot at UTMC," Joni said. "She went into labor and delivered him there. They knew he was drug-exposed. His levels were high enough it could have killed an adult. He had a stroke at birth. He immediately had withdrawal seizures. His mom had been using the entire pregnancy. The neurologist was not sure whether he would walk or talk."

Not only has Jonah developed into a smart, introspective, and athletic teenager, he has become a model of inspiration. The 16-year-old, who scored a hat trick for Northview on Tuesday, earned a tryout at the U.S. Paralympic National Team camp last February.

"You know that your day gets better every time Jonah is in it," Northview coach Kirk Brazeau said. "He simply makes you smile -- not because he is an exceptional athlete, not because he's scoring goals -- but because is such a fun-loving, sincere soul. He shares his spark and his smile with everyone."

Shortly after his birth, Jonah was life-flighted to St. Vincent Medical Center. The Meyer-Crothers family was given the option to reconsider the adoption process.

"He was diagnosed with a mild form of cerebral palsy and they wanted to make sure we still wanted to adopt him," Joni said. "But there was no way we weren't going to adopt him. It was instant love. It was not the kid's fault at all. That is what God gave us and we wanted to give him the best life we could give him."

One of his first doctors suggested getting a soccer ball for Jonah to work on his limited mobility.

"We got him the soccer ball as soon as he started walking," Joni said. "His muscles were so tight with the cerebral palsy, they thought it would be fun for him and it would loosen his muscles. By the time he was 2, he could run up and down the yard with the soccer ball going from foot to foot. It was therapy for him but he didn't realize it. Soccer truly helped him get where he is today."

Jonah said he remembers his first ball featured the animated character Dora the Explorer.

"It was a Dora ball. It was blue and purple. It wasn't too girlish," he said, chuckling.

By age 4, Jonah was already playing up an age group in the Sylvania Rec league.

"We had been told he might never walk and talk. He just had a knack for soccer," Joni said. "Most people see him on the soccer field and with the normal eye, you can't see the cerebral palsy. Sometimes if he gets extremely tired his arm looks like it's in a sling and he will hold his arm a little funny."

Joni said the stroke still affects Jonah's speaking pattern and ability to communicate.

"When he talks he knows what he wants to say but it's tough for him to get the words out. It takes him time to process it," she said.

Jonah said the cerebral palsy mostly affects his right side.

"So I went to physical therapy to strengthen my right side. I could barely pass the ball or shoot the ball. And that was a struggle. So I had to build my right side up," Jonah said.

Jonah has scored seven goals and has two assists this season for a Northview team that is undefeated (3-0-0) and ranked No. 8 in the state.

"When he plays at full speed, it is a beautiful thing to see," Brazeau said. "With the help of a soccer ball, he has learned to navigate and overcome the obstacles thrown at him. You see the love for the game and his teammates. The way he is able to deal with everything with passion and kindness are directly correlated to the spark that Jonah has."

A highlight reel from Jonah's sophomore season, including a sensational bicycle kick for a goal, caught the attention of US Paralympic soccer coach Stuart Sharp. The organization flew Jonah to Florida to work out with the Para 7 Aside National Team in February. They outfitted him with new cleats and a Team USA jersey.

"Jonah, like many players on the National Team, has a remarkable story of overcoming adversity and smashing down barriers," Sharp said. "He is a hard worker and seems determined to succeed. He was also humble and understood the work he needs to put in to be called back to a training camp and then to make the team."

Following a calling

Jamie Crothers and Joni Meyer have seven children, three are biological and four are adopted. They range in age from 14 to 33.

"Honestly, you just adjust and make it work. It's what God was calling us to do. We also fostered 57 kids in seven years. It was life-changing for us," Joni said. "We were going to give them the best life possible and let them know what it feels like to be loved. We feel more blessed than they do."

Jonah's development on and off the field continued at an impressive rate and at age 12 he earned a spot on the elite Michigan Wolves travel team. Just days after making the team, he began feeling dizzy at practice.

"His coach said he turned white and was sweating profusely. He was having chest pains," Joni said. "We took him to our pediatrician who ordered an [echocardiogram]. We honestly didn't think it was anything serious. But he was still having chest pains."

A day after his 12th birthday, Jonas was diagnosed with a rare heart condition.

"I definitely cried for a solid 10 minutes because I didn't want the surgery but my parents and my family helped me through it," Jonah said. "They gave me courage. They told me that if I got the surgery everything after the surgery would be alright."

Dr. William Suarez, a local pediatric cardiologist, diagnosed Jonah with coronary sinus stenosis.

"They found something extremely abnormal. It was a narrowing of the coronary sinus. There were only 60 cases of it documented in the world," Joni said. "He went to the University of Michigan and they told us he'd have to have open heart surgery if he ever wanted to play soccer again. They consulted with doctors from around the country and they all agreed."

Just moments after he was told, a couple of his soccer teammates came into the hospital room.

"They came in and told him he could get through it and everything would be fine," Joni said. "So after that, he had a mindset that he would be okay.

"It was so hard because it was an unknown procedure. He has no blood flow through the right side of the heart anymore. They clamped it off. As spiritual as we are, God was really in control. We knew he was in great hands. We were all very choked up. But Jonah looked up at us and told us he was going to be okay. He was consoling us. And that is kind of Jonah. He is very easy going, compassionate, and tender-hearted."

Although it was expected to take eight hours at Mott's Children Hospital in Ann Arbor, Jonah's surgery took just three hours.

"The care up there was top notch. He did amazing. The heart surgeon said he has the most athletic heart he'd ever seen," Joni said. "The next day, they had him up out of bed and walking down the hallway. The next day he had walked around the entire floor."

During recovery and rehabilitation, Jonah said he often thought of returning to the field.

"My love of the game and the people I play with made me want to come back," Jonah said. "I wanted to come back because I started it and I wanted to finish. I don't want to leave the sport any time soon."

Brazeau said Jonah was just finding his stride.

"It's amazing to think of an 8th-grade young man who was finding consistency and happiness as he grew -- and then, very surprisingly, he received word that he was going to need to have major open-heart surgery. Just thinking about that is tough to process for anyone," his coach said. "But Jonah took it in his stride, made it through the surgery, and then recovered in a way that I don't think anyone was fully expecting."

Only six weeks later, Jonah played in his first soccer game.

"He struggled and did not have the speed. But six weeks to the day, he was out there," Joni said. "We all got choked up. It was a very quick recovery. But the doctor told us he would not be back to his old form for two years. He worked to get his stamina up."

Jonah said he the high speed and intensity of soccer provide a purpose.

"I like all of it. I like the counter-attacks in soccer. It's really fast," Jonah said. "Soccer helps me pick out a goal in life to achieve. It's just part of my life."

Paralympic aspirations

Brazeau, whose 2-year-old son Archer was born with an incredibly challenging skin disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa, said Jonah's perseverance is inspiring on a personal level.

"As a father of a medically unique child, Jonah's ability to adapt and succeed does more than just impress me and his teammates. I hope my son will be able to someday have the ability to follow his goal and dreams just as Jonah has," Brazeau said. "He represents everything that I hope Archer and my older son Anderson can become. He's a beacon for me. He's just a pure soul."

Joni, who said the worry remains constant despite doctors' assurances that Jonah can play with the condition, admits her heart skipped a beat when Jonah went down with an injury last season.

"A player ran into Jonah's chest and he was having bad chest pains," Joni said. "We went to the ER, and he was okay. There is no case study for this. Jonah is writing the story."

Jonah was invited to join the U.S. Paralympic soccer team for a tournament in Italy this summer but it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sharp said Jonah impressed him with how quickly he settled into the camp's rhythm.

"Jonah has good speed and understands when to use it. He is still young and has a lot of development work ahead of him, but he has some raw talent that I believe can be developed to produce quality performances constantly," Sharp said.

Jonah said one of the biggest adjustments was the Paralympic format of seven players on each side.

"The pace was different so I had to learn that new playing style," he said. "It was very fast. It was very physical."

Jonah hopes one day to play major Division I college soccer.

"It's just fun to watch him play," Joni said. "His stamina is back 100 percent now. Our biggest thing is we just want him to be happy and to glorify God. I know whatever challenges he faces, he will do it positively. We just want him to be happy and healthy."

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