Cover Story
Birmingham’s Zion Redington will compete this August in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France as the youngest member of Team USA’s wheelchair rugby squad. His journey to Paris is one filled with both challenges and triumphs, fueled by a loving family and God’s protection and direction.
Humble Beginnings. Heather Redington-Whitlock first saw Zion on the website for the orphanage where he lived in China. She was immediately struck by his photograph and needed to know more about him. “I immediately knew, ‘this is my kid. This is my son.’ And within six months, he was mine,” she recalled. “It was a very short adoption process, and I received great support from wonderful Christian organizations to help the process.” The orphanage director often told Heather, and others who’d listen, that Zion had a “light” upon him. He often took pictures and gave them to Heather, reminding her of how special Zion was. He was adopted at age two and was back with Heather in the United States within a few months; he became a citizen on October 31, 2008.
Born with a disability called ectrodactyly, Zion had one finger on each hand and one toe on each foot. At age 6, he began having consultations with doctors, and the decision was made to amputate his feet to provide better mobility. Today he uses both prosthetics and a wheelchair to get around. “Zion had a congenital birth defect, but now he’s considered a quad amputee,” Heather explained. (As it relates to his current position with Team USA, the Paralympic wheelchair rugby competition is open to male and female athletes with physical disabilities such as amputation/limb loss, spinal cord injury/wheelchair users, and cerebral palsy/brain injury/stroke.) Zion joined his new family in Ca. and then moved to Tenn., where his family got larger when Heather married Mark Whitlock and gained a large, blended family. His oldest brother has autism and struggles medically and his sister Zoe, 23, attends the Exceptional Foundation in Birmingham. Heather’s heart for fostering, and especially for fostering children with medical issues, is big. In total, she’s fostered 58 children. “Zoe was my 40th medical foster child and she was my first adoption from fostering,” she said. “She came to me at two years old and was adopted at 4.” She said that her desire to foster and adopt comes from her faith. “God calls us to care for the orphans and widows,” she said. “Once I adopted Zoe, God just kept bringing other kids. It was the right thing to do.” Zoe brought Heather and Mark together at church, and they were married in 2016. Mark has four adult children from a previous marriage, and his youngest daughter was adopted from China and was born with a cleft lip and palette. “I am adopted myself, and our adoption stories brought Heather and me together,” Mark said.
Fierce Athlete. Zion’s journey to the Paralympics Games in Paris, which take place August 28 through September 8, began with a mother who encouraged him to find a sport he loved. “Once he had his amputation, I wanted him to try out every adaptive sport,” Heather said. “He’s done everything from basketball to track and field, to air rifle and climbing.” He was just nine years old when he first tried wheelchair rugby and was soon competing as part of the Cumberland Crushers rec wheelchair rugby team in Nashville. That began a path of steps–participating in his first wheelchair rugby tournament, making the 2023 Team USA Training Squad, playing for Team USA at the International Wheelchair Rugby Cup, receiving an invitation to selection camp for the US Wheelchair Rugby Team, making Team USA’s travel team to the Musholm Cup in Denmark – that led to Zion being invited to try out and then make the team representing the United States at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Zion has been the youngest player on most of his teams, and at age 17 is by far the youngest on the Paralympic squad. He’s always, however, felt very welcome. “Every team I’ve been on has been great. They really feel like a family,” he said. “It’s very much a community when we come together, and I feel very included.” Zion adds that his involvement with the national teams has been exciting, and his love for the sport of wheelchair rugby is evident. “When I was 9 years old, I was already playing with older players, and later I joined the developmental team and the US team,” he said. “The Paralympic team is made up of 16 players, with 12 that travel and four who are reserves. We found out a few months ago who are traveling, and I’m one of them.” Zion said he loves the competitive nature of the sport and wants others to appreciate it as well. “When I was maybe 13, I really started enjoying it for the big hits,” he recalled. “The sport is more of a mesh between wheelchair basketball, volleyball, football, and field hockey. But the one thing that translates from rugby is its aggressiveness. In fact, it was originally called murderball.” Once Zion became an elite athlete in the sport, Heather and Mark decided to move to Birmingham to make training easy. Lakeshore Foundation in Homewood is the home of Team USA’s wheelchair rugby and travel from Tenn. had become difficult. Heather drove Zion three hours both ways for practices, and ultimately, she told Mark they needed to move. While they loved Franklin (where Heather worked as a nanny for Christian recording artist Tasha Layton), they made the decision to relocate to Birmingham. “Once he made the developmental team, we realized he was going places. And nothing compares to Lakeshore,” she said. “We prayed a lot about it, and we know this is where God has led us.”
Faithful Family. The sacrifices for Zion’s sport are just one example of how faith leads Heather and Mark’s family dynamics. They bathe all decisions in prayer and stay connected via worship and small groups at The Church at Brook Hills. Mark recently started a job as a writer and producer at WDJC-FM. “We’re a real family with ups and downs. We have conflicts and joys alike, but we’re a family that’s grateful to be saved by grace,” Mark said. “We feel really plugged into our church and we have great support for Zoe and Zion.” The thread of faith that has run through their family’s entire journey, Heather and Mark agree, is prayer. “We pray at the dinner table, we pray for all decisions,” he said. “We know that whatever happens, we will trust the Lord. Whether Zion made the team or made it to Paris, we knew it was in God’s hands. We rejoice in the news and the journey.” Heather said she often thinks back at what Zion’s orphanage director said about him being a special child bathed in light. “I know God called Zion to shine his light in the world in relation to having a disability and being able to overcome things and to live your life,” Heather said. “He’s a witness to the light and it’s a position that God has placed on Zion. We believe it’s a message to all of us to never hide that light…”
Expectant Future. Zion’s light and witness will be on display most noticeably between August 30 and September 2, when the wheelchair rugby competition takes place at the Paralympic Games. And, after that? Zion said he plans to continue competing in adaptive sports while looking forward to a future in college. The rising senior attends school through the Church at Brook Hills co-op and said that education is important to his plans. “I want to eventually do college and be an elite athlete in my sport,” he said. “I know that sports aren’t life and I’ve been taught the three A’s: academics, attitude, and ability. I know education is important, and I’m really interested in finance.” He also wants to continue to represent and teach others well about the value of people with disabilities. He encourages families to foster a sense of curiosity with a sense of respect. “I think the biggest thing is to normalize it. Look at people with disabilities with a sense of normality,” he said. “You can be curious, but we need to progress more into a mindset of curiosity combined with normalcy.” For Heather and Mark, they’ll continue to cheer on Zion during the Paris games and in upcoming competitions. And they’ll continue to put God first in all their decisions–and to teach their children to do so as well. “We pray that God’s light will continue to shine through Zion,” Mark said.
-Cheryl Wray
You can join Lakeshore Foundation for the Celebration of Champions: An Evening in Paris where you can experience an immersive experience and send of the U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Team as they go for gold on July 26, 2024. Click here to learn more!
