This Is CHD

This is CHD.

It’s a little girl at a park trying to keep up with the rest of the kids.

It’s a little girl who wears an extra long jacket and jeans on trying to hide all the wires strapped onto her chest.

It’s a little girl who barely looks any different from the rest.

It’s a little girl who has a deadly heart rhythm issue, but who would know?

It’s a little girl with slightly blue tinted lips and a flushed face as she tries to play tag with the other kids.

It’s a little girl out of breath as she climbs the stairs of the tallest slide.

It’s a little girl who wears a backpack attached to leads sticking out from underneath her shirt.

She’s trying to hide them the best as she can.

It’s a little girl who may fall but gets right back up.

It’s the little girl who wakes up every day and cries out that she doesn’t want to take her medications. Her mom’s tried whip cream, apple sauce, yogurt, ice cream and even hot fudge some days. Nothing works.

It’s a little girl who wants to get clearance to play soccer, baseball and karate like the rest of her friends but is never allowed.

It’s a little girl who’s left out far too often.

It’s a little girl who misses school too many days because of doctors appointments and sickness. She begs to go to school because it’s her safe place.

It’s a little girl who gets bullied every time she wears a tank top.

But…

It’s a little girl who never gives up.

It’s an a little girl who knows the scars on her chest are symbols of survival.

It’s a little girl who’s been through adversity and has seen many dark days.

But it’s also a girl who has seen the light of many good days.

It is a little girl far wiser than her days on this earth.

It’s a little girl, who is now a young woman. She knows she has CHD, but CHD never has her.