Those who know Isaac Murdock best understand the word “can’t” isn’t in his vocabulary.
“He never says ‘I can’t do that,’” explained his mother, Kristi, who grew up in Iola. “He’ll say, ‘Why don’t we do it this way instead?’
“He really likes to spin scenarios around on their head.”
Isaac, 13, has been confined to a wheelchair all of his life, due to a birth defect, spondylocostal dysostosis, an abnormal development of his spine and ribs.
His spine is misshapen, curving both side to side and front to back, Kristi explained.
Long story short, while he can feel sensations, and detect hot and cold with his legs, he has no muscle control or ability to move his legs.
Isaac’s story, including his passion for wheelchair basketball, has become a focal point of the NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs.
He is part of an NFL Films series about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a candidate for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which recognizes players for their off-the-field contributions.
And, as a guest of Mahomes, Isaac will be in Las Vegas on Feb. 8 for Super Bowl LVIII.
SO HOW did Isaac and Mahomes cross paths?
Kristi, a 1998 Iola High School graduate, explains.
“The key link here is Variety KC,” Kristi said.
Through the years, the Murdocks twice have acquired new basketball wheelchairs for Isaac — most recently earlier this year — with grant assistance from Variety KC, a non-profit charity based in Kansas City, where they live.
As part of the application process, the Murdocks included tidbits about Isaac’s background.
In December, Kristi received a call from Variety KC, asking if he’d be a part of a film package for one of the group’s charitable partners — 15 and the Mahomies Foundation.
