KarunaNews Story

Mandi Sedlak will be competing for the fourth time in the U.S. Gold Association’s Adaptive Open in July. Mandi was a teenage gymnast on track to compete in college on scholarship when she developed a problem that changed her life. Something inside her right foot was bothering her; when the pain became unbearable, Mandi went to a doctor, beginning a yearslong process that eventually led to a diagnosis of plantar neurofibromatosis. The disease, defined by painful tumors, is not a cancer, but had to be treated as such because of its potential to spread in the body. Her career in gymnastics was ended by the disease and eventually, Mandi had her right leg amputated below the knee. A chance encounter with Janet Lindsay, who was working as an LPGA tournament coordinator, introduced Mandi to adaptive golf. Mandi was hooked and has continued to hone her golf game ever since. “The only disability is a bad attitude,” says Mandi’s coach Jim Cottam. She strives to see life that way and maintains a positive attitude as much as possible.