Inspiration can come from many sources. Let us not forget that our own chronically or critically ill children can be one of the greatest sources of that inspiration!  My daughter, Celia, had a request from a friend to help with a school project on inspiring young women and below is what Celia wrote.  I have much to learn from this child of mine…  We are in this together.  Much Love

I struggle with multiple medical issues, the most serious being internal bleeding problems that cause me to need blood transfusions often. To give some context to that, I have received over 50 units of blood in the last 3 years. However, this is just one piece of my story. I am a young woman who truly wants to make an impact on this world. I hope to lead a life full of love, courage, and, most importantly, faith. I don’t ever want to let my health challenges or the rough parts in my history stop me from doing that. Some advice I’d like to give to other young girls (and something I’m still working at myself) is to remember that those broken and difficult pieces of life are still a part of your story, and those scars they leave are a map of what you have survived and conquered. I know it’s really hard to have that mindset; it is for me too, but every chapter in our stories shapes us into who we are and who we will become. I’d like to end with this saying: “Speak life, love hard, live victoriously.”

Celia, age 17