It’s been 4 years since we took off to Memphis to rule out cancer in Demis eyes and begin the process of a diagnosis. It’s been 4 years since we knew Demi’s vision was limited. And it’s been 4 years since we decided her life may have challenges but she would accomplish whatever her little heart desired.

We were blessed to find out she didn’t have cancer and we moved from life threatening to life altering. This was a massive blessing but there was still a lot to process. It took a few more weeks of scans, blood tests and a spinal tap to get a final diagnosis. As soon as we got home, Demi started with physical and occupational therapy as well as working with a teacher of the visually impaired.

This next year was a whirlwind of therapy, 3-5 medications a day, weekly blood work and doctors visits and so many moments of exhaustion. It was an extremely hard time for me. I wasn’t aware of it at the time. I was just fighting for Demi. Whether I was fighting with insurance or helping her reach milestones, I was fighting for my girl. As we approached each milestone I would feel a tremendous amount of pressure to help her attain it. I’m well aware that I put this on myself and I would do it all over again too.

As time progressed we could see that everything we had planned for Demi was beginning to come true! It took time to see, but we kept putting in the hard work even when we didn’t see immediate results.

Today I read an old post that my husband wrote. In that post I was immediately reminded of the fear we were facing and how we came together to plan exactly how we would raise her. This is his words from 4 years ago:

“She will be raised to believe she doesn’t have limitations, only challenges…as we all do….

She will still go fishing and hunting with daddy,
She will still dance and dress up with mommy,
She will still fight with Beau (and win some),
She will still have an awesome childhood,
She will still go to school dances and parties,
I will still scare all of her dates with my guns,
She will still learn and be brilliant,
She will still grow into an incredible woman,
She will still (God willing) have her own kids,

Some people look to others to be inspired,
others tough it out and become the inspiration.
As for me and my house….we tough it out.”

Let 👏 me 👏 tell 👏you 👏! Yes all the claps! For dramatics, let’s do it again! Let 👏me 👏tell 👏you👏!

She has done it all (age appropriate goals) and exceeded far beyond these! Stay tuned y’all!