Before this graduation season fades
from memory, I want to bring longtime readers of my column up to date on a
Pleasanton girl I’ve written about on occasion over the years.
The girl is my daughter, Kelsey.
Because her birth in 1995 was
healthy, we would never have predicted the difficult times that lay ahead for
our little girl. It wasn’t until she was two that we
had any indication anything was wrong. Kelsey developed an enlarged heart
from mitral insufficiency, a leaky heart valve.
But the weak valve was just one
challenge. She was also diagnosed with Jeune Syndrome, a condition that would
forever make her shorter than her peers.
Soon x-rays of Kelsey’s chest
revealed that her bronchial tube was being crushed by her heart, and most of
her lungs were filled with fluid. So the decision was made for Kelsey
to undergo open-heart surgery, the day after her third birthday.
I’ll never forget as the operation
began forming a prayer circle in the waiting room at Children’s Hospital
Oakland with Kelsey’s grandparents and other family members. The surgeon
unlocked our brave little girl’s heart, peered inside, and worked for several
hours, successfully repairing the valve.
For several years, our lives
returned to normal. Kelsey loved playing with her older sister, and she
developed a keen sense of compassion and a kindness toward others.
Despite these difficulties, Kelsey
kept up with her school work and progressed with her classmates through the
Pleasanton school system.
But as if her genetic condition and
the two traumatic surgeries were not enough, her kidneys began to fail at age
13. Sadly, because young drivers do not sign up in sufficient numbers as organ
donors, the waiting list for organs often sentences people with kidney failure
to years of dialysis, but Kelsey was fortunate.
In an act of love and kindness, a generous
savior stepped forward to make an incredible difference in Kelsey’s life.
Theresa Harris, Kelsey’s aunt, was a match for the kidney donation.
So it is fitting that Theresa
attended Kelsey’s high school graduation earlier this month to celebrate Kelsey’s
acceptance into Sonoma State University and her many achievements despite so
many life-threatening challenges.
My daughter’s story of perseverance
is just one example of the resilience and beauty of our children who graduated
this season. So many students face difficult challenges as they navigate the requirements of our educational system and of becoming a teenager and a responsible adult.
In her own words posted on her blog,
Kelsey says it best: “We are taught to help each other from the time we are in
kindergarten, and it is a habit that we must remember. An act of kindness every
day from all of us can make an incredible difference in the world.”
Theresa Harris and Kelsey Ott at Amador Valley
High School graduation
June 2014
