When Timothy was delivered three months premature, weighing in at 1lb. 3oz., Angela and Sanders could only guess at the physical and emotional challenges in the years to come.  Timothy has Global Developmental Delay, which encompasses gross and fine motor skills, cognitive and communicative abilities. Respiratory function, oral aversion, and sensory processing are also compromised. Sanders says, “Nothing really prepares a parent for this and we had to learn to relinquish this idealized vision of having an idealized baby; but this doesn’t mean that we are any less grateful for the gift of Timothy. In fact, we are more grateful. His life is such a blessing.” Joy defined as thankfulness under every circumstance guides the Mah family in their pursuit for Timothy’s best.

 

 

John doesn’t walk into the room, he rolls in with his wheelchair accompanied with such poise and self-confidence that it can make you wonder what is his secret? “I am a born explorer,” John comments. If you looked at his resume there is no refuting it, at the age of 33 he has visited every continent in the world apart from Antarctica. John notes,” Many people have asked me how a young man in a wheelchair could travel so independently throughout the world, and I respond simply that my desire to see what is around the next corner far outweighs the difficulties of what I might encounter in getting there.” John was paralyzed in a car accident at the age of 16; a very important year in a teenager’s life for self-discovery became a year of surgery and years of rehabilitation but John lives his life seeing all that he is gained rather than what he has lost, his wheelchair enables him to go the distance.

 
Jasmine Goldthorpe

 

Pam and peter named her Jazz the night she was born; they knew she would need a Jazzy spirit to stay alive. Pam writes, “By midnight on the first night, our baby had gone through her first surgery and we were told that she would have to undergo open-heart surgery within a week. This would be the second of 20 surgeries to date.” Jazzy would need to have a fighting spirit in her tiny body to live. At the end of their third day, Jazzy was diagnosed with CHARGE syndrome, a rare developmental disorder that results in a wide range of global challenges. Jazzy defied her odds and survived those crucial and critical first few months. Today Jazzy is a vibrant 13 year old social butterfly.  Jazzyhas achieved much in the past few years. Her fighting spirit is living proof that it’s not the size of the person but the size of her spirit that matters.

 

Mursal Sakhi  

 

At the age of 17, Mursal has fought hard to overcome the various health challenges that were completely beyond her control to come out more determined and optimistic about her future. At 15 Mursal had four seizures.  When she came out of her coma she discovered the loss of specific functions like balance and coordination, memory, concentration and attention had to be relearned. With maturity well beyond her years, she identified her desired personal outcomes of therapy, designed her own treatment plan and motivated herself to accomplish the goals she set out to achieve. Despite feeling the emotional and psychological stress of memory loss affecting her sense of identity, Mursal's positive spirit and attitude carried her forward. She plans to finish a four year nursing degree after high school and her life long goal is continue gaining more knowledge in field of medicine.