{miss tea}

Meet Tea.

A survivor of more than most of us will see in our lifetime.

Let me start this first post by saying this: My words on this blog cannot express in full nature what my heart feels about these kids and this experience. But more importantly, I cannot completely explain each child's story in it's entirty, or rather do justice to who these kids are. So please take what I say with a grain of salt. More importantly, look into these kids eyes. See their journey, their story, their life. It's not something that can be put into words and I am certainly not skilled enough to try. So in this post and the following are a few facts about these kids and a few of my thoughts and observations after meeting them. Thanks for reading. :)

So, this is Tea. She is a little girl who is full of laughter, and at the same time has a maturity and a deepness to her that contrasts her joy in a beautiful way.

An Atrial Septal Defect. Failure to Thrive. Asthma. Melanoma. Seizures. Heart surgery to repair the hole in her heart. Brain surgery to remove a mass that had formed. The placement of an Amplatzar. Nose cauterizations. A tonsillectomy. An Adenoidectomy.

And her mom says that Tea's bravery and ferocity are what kept her going.

Then there's her pink poodle. This friend of Tea's once belonged to Sara. When Tea was in the hospital going through extensive testing on her brain in preparation for her surgery, she met and bonded deeply with Sara, another patient. Sara passed away while Tea was at the hospital with her, and Sara's family gave the pink poodle to Tea. Since then, this pink friend has been by Tea's side for all her procedures and surgeries.

So here she is. A sweet, joyful, brave, and deep little girl.

To Miss Tea - thank you. Thank you for your courage and your laughter. You are an amazing little girl and I am blessed to have met you!

(Tea's brother jumped in a few pictures...such a cute pair!)