We have witnessed and experienced many awe-inspiring things on this trip so far. Nothing, however, even comes close to the AMAZING MIRACLE we were fortunate to encounter named Mya and the strength of her family. Mya, the nine-year-old daughter of friends of ours who live in Kansas, was in a car accident on February 24th of this year and spent the next several months in a coma. NINE YEARS OLD. SEVERAL MONTHS IN A COMA!!! A parent cannot help but to hear such a story and think how easily it could be their own child. We followed her progress for months with baited breath, unable to understand how impacted we would be by something happening so far away - an article on her development at the time can be found at http://louisburgsportszone.com/2015/04/community-rallies-together-for-jimmy-and-mya/
We knew that we had to go to Kansas with the Natterbus, if they would have us. By the end of the first week of our trip we arrived at their house.
Our friend Spencer was standing in the road flagging us down. We knew Spencer from wayyyyyyyy back and will always have a soft spot in our hearts for this hip-hop loving son of a preacher man. His new wife, her daughter Mya and their two sons we had never met, though we felt as if we knew them already from contact on the phone and Internet.
We had no idea what we would find when we arrived, for we hadn't asked when making travel plans with them. It didn't matter to us what state Mya was in, only that we would have a brief chance to engage with them all. Our last information had been that she was slowly waking from her coma and being released from the hospital for the next part of her recovery.
To walk into the room and see her sitting up, smiling, waving at us and then walking absolutely blew me away. I became very emotional during my time with them, bursting into tears as subtly and off to myself as possible so as not to scare anyone! I felt I had no right to be so dramatic over something that "doesn't affect me directly", and, yet, the emotion and awe-inspiring feeling of it all was so overwhelming. To her parents I am sure the miracle is less contrasting since they have the benefit and deficit of a past with her and a hope for the future - there must be thoughts of how she used to do this or will she ever do that, not to mention the logistics of support. We, however, have never met her before and have the luxury of living in her present miracle in all of it's rich fullness.
And as for the the kids, they ignored it all and had an awesome time together! Our eldest, who is one of the most sensitive people I've met on the planet, immediately had an understanding of the situation and how she might feel in that same position - from the moment she heard of the story to the second she met Mya. She has had other friends in the past who were differently-abled than her (and hung out with many elderly as well) and so this didn't matter much to her, though I am sure she wishes she could have had more full on conversations with Mya. To watch them interact, however, was a thing of real beauty. Just in the time we were with them Mya played on the playground - sliding down the slide for the first time since the accident - got in the swimming pool (splashing her mother with water), and drove a kid-sized electric car (both forwards AND backwards all on her own!!!).
(This is Mya going down the slide in her backyard for the first time since the accident!) Equally inspiring, however, is the strength and perseverance of her family and support network - most specifically her parents, but also rippling out from there. I will forever remember that when my days seem difficult juggling three kids, they are NOTHING compared to having two boys under five to chase after while staying by Mya's side 24/7 to assist with bathroom, swallowing, walking, eating issues. I marveled at how well they passed duties back and forth between them seemlessly. Sports players receive all the glory when they work in sync on the field, parents rarely do! This is by no means an easy task since they also are required to fulfill the mundane necessities of life, such as making money, eating, and going to the bathroom, among other things. And forget about date nights or me time!!!!
Currently, the update is that Mya is still making strides and has been accepted into the Madonna Rehab Institute in Lincoln, NE. A GOFUNDME fundraising campaign (found at http://www.gofundme.com/nh19g0 ) was set-up a while back by a friend of theirs (since they are too modest to ask for money, but DEFINITELY need it for health aids and gas money and since working is not possible for both of them at the same time any longer and all the other bills that continue to rack up) so pleeeeease consider contributing to them!!!!! This is a real story of real people living inspirational lives. And if not, please just keep them in your hearts, your prayers, or whatever feels right to you. We thank them for sharing their lives with us and cannot wait to watch them all grow and blossom as a family!
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