Buffalo Grove gymnast meets U.S. team in Beijing

While 12-year-old Nikki Rhum has had to put off her own gymnastics career because of a recently-diagnosed disease, she recently had the opportunity to watch the Olympic sport in person.

The Buffalo Grove resident was given a trip to the Beijing Olympics through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and, through her mother's tenacity, was able to meet with the American women's gymnastic team.

"It was awesome," Rhum said. "It was really exciting."

Rhum has won several medals while competing in gymnastics, but she was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, last year. The chronic disease affects the automatic nervous system and causes headaches, dizziness and joint pain.

The disease leaves her unable to go to school for long periods of time, and gymnastics is out of the question, at least for now.

In Beijing, Rhum had a chance to chat with the silver-medal winning team - including her favorite, Shawn Johnson - right after the athletes finished the team competition on Aug. 13.

"We talked about how well (Johnson) did, and I said good luck with tomorrow," Rhum said. "She was really nice."

Rhum's mom, Jodi, said they were all pleasantly surprised to find Nastia Liukin to be very friendly, since she takes on a serious demeanor while competing.

"Nastia told Nikki she knew exactly who she was," Jodi said.

Rhum also met the Australian and Romanian teams and was in the audience when Liukin and Johnson won gold and silver in the all-around events.

Rhum was also able to talk to Chellsie Memmel about the gym her parents own in Wisconsin, where Rhum has competed in gymnastics events.

"All the girls were just amazing to Nikki," Jodi said. "We really felt like superstars."

The entire Rhum family was also able to tour Beijing, including visits to the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

"The Chinese people took fabulous care of us," Jodi said. "It was beautiful. It was an amazing place, and the people really made it more amazing."