Inspirational Paper

Taylor’s Fight
Sometimes life seems unfair and you think, “Why me? Why do I have to go through this?” Well, I wish I could tell you, but the plain fact is that’s just the way it is. Life’s not fair. It’s not fair that some children go hungry. It’s not fair that innocent people get killed. It’s not fair that I lost my best friend or my dog died. But if you look at the situation differently, why not you? I guess it’s hard to see any good come out of a challenging situation, but after you experience the difficult times, take some time and step back. You may find a purpose or reason behind your pain. Maybe the hard times and bumps along the road will make you stronger or maybe it can give you a different outlook on life. Maybe your situation will inspire someone. Living and surviving through these difficult experiences makes you, you. And after all, if we didn’t have challenges throughout our life, we wouldn’t be able to appreciate the truly special moments presented to us.
When I was born, my doctors thought I was a perfectly healthy baby. But a day later, a doctor noticed my heartbeat was a little different. Instead of hearing a normal thumping beat, he heard a swooshing sound. Later, the doctors diagnosed me with Ventrical Septal Defect (VSD), which is a hole in the heart. Because the hole was too big to close on its own, doctors said I would need open-heart surgery to live a healthy, “normal” life. Many difficulties came with having a heart problem. Prior to the surgery, I didn’t eat, sleep, or grow very well. I was always fussy. But the surgery was very successful. A bulletproof patch covers the hole and now my heart beats like the thump of a drum.
After surgery, challenges still lay ahead. I was scared to sleep. “Don’t close your eyes!” I’d tell my mom. I was afraid she would never wake up. If I died I worried, “who would I know in heaven?” My mom decided to take me to church. One day, driving home from Sunday school I said from my car seat, “Mommy, I’m not afraid to die anymore, if I do, I’m going to live with Jesus. I’ll wait for you in heaven!” When Kindergarten came, it posed more challenges for me. I took ballet lessons and all of the girls would change together. Girls questioned the long scar I had across my chest. It embarrassed me and I actually ended up quitting ballet.
Now that I look at my situation, despite the hard times, I’m glad I was given a heart defect. It opened up different doors in my life that I don’t think I would’ve seen otherwise. It brought me to God and it taught me to be a fighter. It showed me how to overcome teasing and not let a scar affect me. Now I see my scar as more of a battle scar, something that makes me a little different from everyone else. It’s allowed me to attend some awesome events and be a part of a group called Kardiac kids, a group for children with heart disease. It’s also allowed me to attend Camp Taylor, a camp for the families of children with heart disease, and it’s given me the opportunity to meet professional football players. One of the best things though, is my heart defect has led me to hear some truly inspirational stories and has brought me to some amazing people.
This weekend I was invited to sing with Henry Kapono and a bunch of other children who have been or are patients of Kapiolani hospital. It was an event to celebrate the hospital’s 100th birthday. They were having a dinner in honor of the hospital and many important people would be attending. At first I didn’t really want to go, I was nervous because I didn’t know anybody. I hate that awkward feeling where you don’t know anyone, so you don’t know what to do with yourself.
The event was held at the Hawaii Convention Center. They had two rooms set up, one for the actual dinner, and one for us kids to play in. Our room was huge. Tables topped with markers, papers, puzzles, and all sorts of things were laid out throughout the room. I sat quietly at one of the tables set up to decorate purses. I got that awkward feeling, and I didn’t feel like being there anymore. Then they handed out t-shirts with what our condition was written across the front of it. Mine said in bold words, OPEN HEART SURGERY. As I looked around, kids had all sorts of medical conditions ranging from cancer to heart disease to being premature babies, and living with diabetes. Then we were called out to greet the guests. The guests arrived, coming up the escalators wearing very expensive looking clothing. I saw some people I could recognize like Neil Abercrombie, the governor, and some doctors. Some of them shook our hands or gave us a high five. Others asked for our stories. After greeting the guests for a while, I became bored. I saw a really cute little girl standing by herself. I noticed that the shirt she was wearing said, BEATING LEUKEMIA. You could tell too, because she didn’t have much hair. I went over to go talk to her.
“Hey, I’m Cara. What’s your name?”
“Hi, I’m Taylor,” she said shyly.
I asked her a little about herself and then I asked her if she knew any hand games. Her face lit up. As soon as she smiled, something about it lit up my heart. We started playing “I went to a Chinese Restaurant.” Then we finished greeting the guests and went back inside the room to eat dinner. After dinner I saw Taylor again. I asked her if she wanted to come draw a picture with me. She showed me a picture of a dog she drew for her dad. Then she came over and started drawing some flowers. I drew a caterpillar on the side and then she copied. Taylor started drawing faces, making sure each one had a dot on the middle of them.
“I like to put a zit on all of them!” she said as she laughed.
Then I made a dog out of paper. I drew a red bow on the top of its head and gave it to her.
“How did you know I wanted a bow!” she said. “Oh, wait you forgot something, he needs to breathe!”
Taylor drew huge nostrils on the doggy’s nose. She smiled proudly at the drawing, and then asked me to get her a paper.
“Don’t look! I’m making you something!” she said.
“I’m not looking” I replied. Every few seconds she’d tell me,
“Don’t look, don’t look!” as she colored away.
When she was done she handed me her drawing. It was a dog, with a red bow of course! Then she found a beanbag and we started playing toss. She was so full of energy.
“My daddy taught me how to do this!” she beamed as she threw the beanbag under her leg.
As she showed me all of her tricks, I looked at her in awe, wondering how she was so full of life. She didn’t let her leukemia stop her one bit! Then a little girl came over and stole our beanbag! I was so mad, but it didn’t bother Taylor. She started cartwheeling across the floor.
“Try it Cara!”
I tried to do my sad attempt of a cartwheel. Taylor told me about how she was taking gymnastics. She showed me her splits and asked me to do a bridge. She started doing all these fancy jumps. Then she told me all kinds of stories. She shared with me about the commercial she was in for Kapiolani hospital, and how she got to choose her picture in it. She told me she chose one from her family trip to Kauai on her sixth birthday. She also told me all about her dad and how he used to play football and how he surfs. You could tell she really loves him. Taylor reminded me of myself in some ways. We’re both very quiet when we first meet people, but after we get to know them, there’s no stopping us!
Then they called all the kids over to practice our Henry Kapono songs, which were “Friends” and “Good Times”. She was in the row in front of me. Every so often she would look back and smile at me. I would smile and scrunch my nose.
The best moment of the night was after our performance with Henry Kapono. As soon as she saw me, she came running straight into my arms! “Cara!” she beamed. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and didn’t let go of me the rest of the night! By the end of the event, I didn’t want to say good-bye to her. She gave me a big hug and then went off with her dad. She left something me something special though, something you can't buy. She left me her love and sparkle of life. It’s amazing how just a small girl touched my heart. Her desire to fight through her leukemia left me in awe. What’s more is she probably would never have any idea that she left that kind of mark in my heart. She was just being Taylor.
Taylor is just your typical six-year-old girl who loves life. The only difference is she’s had a few more bumps along her path. She hasn’t let that stop her though! Maybe it actually makes her stronger! She is a small girl with a big heart, and despite her leukemia she still lives and celebrates life to the fullest. It’s crazy how a little girl like Taylor is fighting so hard to live and making the best of it, when many of us go through our lives complaining at little things and wishing our lives were different. So the next time you find yourself grumbling that you have to go to school or you’re not having a good day, the next time you feel life seems unfair and you think, “Why me?,” just stop and take a second to remember, Taylor’s fight.