Jeffrey Alderton
Cumberland Times-News
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CUMBERLAND — Two-and-a-half-year-old Briley Linaburg kicked off her cheerleading career Friday night at Greenway Avenue Stadium.
Following in the footsteps of her mom, Mandy Richards Linaburg, who was a varsity cheerleader and captain at Fort Hill High School where she graduated in 2002, Briley was the youngest participant of a well-attended cheerleading clinic held in July at the Fort Hill gymnasium.
Friday night, the bright-eyed daughter of Mandy and Ricky Linaburg made her debut during Fort Hill High School’s football season opener with Surrattsville High School. A practice session Thursday helped Briley prepare for the big night.
But the road to the stadium since Briley was born on Feb. 29, 2008, at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., has not been a trouble-free one.
“Briley was in the hospital for the first two months after she was born, and Ricky and I had to live in a motel to be there with her,” said Mandy. “Briley was born with gastroschisis, a birth defect where she was born with her small intestine outside of her body.”
An immediate surgery corrected the problem but a second surgery was required five weeks later when Briley suffered a diaphragmatic hernia. “It required her to have a feeding tube and she couldn’t eat through her mouth for nine months,” said Mandy.
Briley has fully recovered from the medical challenges she faced as a newborn.
“She’s doing well and is as happy as can be and good to go,” said her mom, who is a dental assistant to Dr. Mark Dinola. Dad works at ATK, where he was granted medical leave when Briley was born.
“Briley had a lot of prayers and support that got her through it. She’s all better and cheering and having a good time. She’s normal and if it wasn’t for her scars no one would ever know,” said Mandy, who expressed a note of gratitude.
“We couldn’t do it without the support of family and friends,” she said. “We had to be there for her — be positive and keep praying.”
Contact Jeffrey Alderton at jlalderton@times-news.com.
