My ears were ringing, my head was spinning, and I could see the sky through the windshield. The sky? I was driving to my daughter’s doctor's appointment; why was I seeing the sky? In 2019, Mya, Tessa, and I were involved in a horrible accident, when a distracted driver hit us at 65 mph while we were stopped at a redlight. Mya, seven at the time, was in the third row and a mother’s worst fear was realized as I lay, stuck in my seatbelt waiting for the fire department to cut her out of the van. 

I couldn’t hear her crying, so I knew something was dreadfully wrong. Strangely, I didn’t feel panic, I felt peace, as though the Lord’s hand was reassuring me that a power much bigger than me had this… and so I clung onto that, trusted in that, hoped in that. 

As a result of the impact, Mya suffered a moderate brain injury and several fractured vertebrae. The doctors told us her brain had gone through something similar to shaken-baby syndrome—her gray and white matter had actually mushed together. She spent three weeks in the hospital, countless days in therapy. Although Mya has recovered from physical injuries, that day has forever changed her (and our little family!).

How do you cope when “normal” has changed? What do you do when your seven-year-old’s life is forever impacted? This experience has taught us that we come alive in the hard times, or we let them defeat us. We chose to live. And even though life is different, the struggles don’t consume or define us.

Mya’s healing has been through books, art, and music. These all  help when her anxiety takes her into its merciless grasps. Stories and focusing on what creates happiness, stopping to remember your blessings and what an amazing journey your body, brain, and soul have gone through have helped her cope with strength, and grace, and determination when executive-functioning shortcomings make things harder than they used to be.

We have learned and are continually reminded to focus on the good things, heeding the advice of my grandfather, to count our blessings.