Being!
/Everything she does teaches me how to be more than I am! Even when the odds are against her, she knows the house has the advantage, there appears little to gain, Naya shows me the way. Fighting Medulloblastoma has been a test of courage, strength, resilience, persistence, focus, and most of all determination. She has been an icon to me and Amy, showing us at every hurdle how to be! Over the course of the last twenty one months, the time she has been in treatment, she takes every challenge head on and with grace and eloquence; 2 brain surgeries, 6 weeks of daily radiation - general anesthesia - and chemo, Six - five week cycles of chemo therapy that every single time put her in the hospital fighting infection for weeks, and 2 - post standard protocol - chemo regiments to fight the effects of her relapsed disease. Always, thinking of others, mostly Amy, Zak, and me, even though much of the time she battles nausea, aches and pains, and generally low energy, she keeps fighting forward. No matter how difficult the situation is at hand, Naya's positive drive, focus and attitude inspire everyone around her. To Naya, there is no other way to be.
We are blessed to love her, parent her, teach her, help her through it all, and most of all learn how to be!
Now she faces another challenge. The most difficult of all. One that, at 11 years old, I struggle to understand how she possesses the insight to navigate but yet she does. She is teaching Amy and me how to honor and respect who she is and all that she has achieved even if she may not be able to reinforce the lesson.
The disease is fighting hard to win the battle. Though this insidious villain may prove more than our beautiful, daughter can defeat, she is still showing us how to simply be! Be strong, be kind, be understanding, be in the moment, be better than we think, be loving, be courageous, be human. She is beautiful, so beautiful. Keep being Naya, keep being!
