This girl.

This girl is the picture of resilience, the epitome of strength, and the hardest working kid I know.

She has overcome obstacle after obstacle to get where she is today.

When our medical team worried about her breathing on her own after birth, she got off the ventilator within 3 days. My fierce little 4 pound newborn was always a fighter.

When the doctors said she might not learn to eat by mouth, she feverishly took to a bottle as soon as she was given the chance at 2 months old. Eating has never been a problem for this girl.

When early intervention wondered if she would ever be able to walk or communicate on her own, she showed them how wrong they were. Not only does she walk and talk, last year she learned how to ride a bike with training wheels and can’t get enough of texting.

When a cardiac procedure as a baby was supposed to delay another open heart surgery for 18-24 months, she stretched that into 9 years and counting. She is thriving and will soon be taller than her barely 5’1” mother.

This girl is fire, determination, and sass. She will get what she wants and where she needs to be in life.

We will never doubt her potential.

She has exceeded expectations from Day One.

We will lift her up and support her and believe in her.

She will get there. It won’t be easy. It never has been, but she will get there.

Because she can do it.