Three Years Later

Tonight I sat at the elementary school where YCOA meets for practice each week and watched Heather do things that this night three years ago, I never would have thought possible. This night three years ago I had resigned myself to there not being "in three years" with Heather.

Three years ago on this night Heather went into a 3 hour convulsive status seizure. Not only did she seize for more than three hours, but she had high fever caused by sepsis. The video embedded here was taken that night, short clips taken between 6 and 8pm on November 5th. I don't like to watch this, I haven't watched it more than a couple of times since that night, this moment was the start of a nightmare I never could have imagined.

 As I watched Heather tonight at cheer practice I thought about these things, and went back to this hospital room and that moment in my mind.

Three years later Heather Riley is in an amazing place. She has opportunities and strength that I never thought would be available to her. I sat on the bench and choked back tears for 40 minutes as I watched the girls treating Heather like any other girl on the squad (these girls have no idea she is any different) Heather was doing stunts like the other kids, I watched Heather assist in holding another girl up in the air. I had to hold my breath, and thank God for the determination she has, for the strength we have all been able to find to take the next step each time we had to. It is amazing what a difference your attitude makes.

In the darkest of moments we have always chosen to live and not simply exist. This is why Heather is successful, this is why she is doing what she does.

 Heather still has Lennox Gastaut Syndrome, but truth is that does not define who she is and what she is capable of doing. Sometimes we bite off more than we can chew, but in the end we look at the situations and say "we tried" We are all given one life and we must honor that life and live it to the fullest. Not constantly looking back into the past; retrospect is good as long as you are balancing it with introspection so you learn and grow. Never wallowing in "poor me" "oh, how we suffer" Learn from where you have been. As a family we look at November 2011 as not only our darkest hour, but also our greatest blessing.

Heather recovered from the status seizure after several doses of ativan, a phenobarbital load and a load of dilantin. She would  crash in the ambulance and arrive at the childrens hospital in critical condition. Her heart and kidneys failing, unable to breath on her own. Within 48 hours she would open her eyes and start to recover. And today, three years after that ordeal here she is. Standing in a room, a room here she is part of a competition cheer leading squad learning cheers and stunts as though she was just another girl.

She is just another girl, three years later, just another girl, and that's all I ever wanted.