Shared by a friend , Wendy . Her remembrance of how Teresa touched her life!
Life Lessons from a Princess
This
is a story I want to share. It is a true story that I hope inspires you
as much as it has me. You might want some tissues nearby.
Many
people think they need to go to college and study under a professor to
learn something really important. Yes, this might be true and I have
learned a lot from my professors
throughout the years. The most valuable lesson I just happened to learn
from a six year old. Yes, she was only six and she lived states away
from me…but she taught me something about life that I have never had
anyone teach me. Here is her story.
Little
Teresa was born on December 25, 2006 near Beijing, China. Her name was
Fang Fang. She was abandoned when she was about 5 months old. I tell you
this because this probably
means her birth parents did want to keep her but just could not because
of her health and the laws of the country. They placed her in a safe
place so she would be found. This girl was loved. Fang Fang was born
with complex congenital heart issues. She was
in an orphanage where they did take care of her well and I am sure she
was loved. At the age of 3, little Fang Fang started asking for a
family. I have been to an orphanage in China and I cannot fathom the
feelings a child goes through when they see their
friends’ parents come but no parent has come for them. These children
are not able to call out for their mommy and daddy in the middle of the
night because they don’t have one. Fang Fang wanted one. A family from
the states heard about her and her dire medical
condition. They knew that their life was very full already as they had
four biological children and four adopted children from China. They
agreed to adopt her in order to give her a family. They were not even
sure she would make it home to the states due to
her illness. Well, she made it home…she thrived at home. She was given
the name Teresa. She embraced her family and loved life. Teresa loved
being a princess and loved any princess movie, loved dressing up as a
princess and her fashion trend was a tiara. The
sad news was the medical teams in the states said she needed both a new
heart and new lungs. She was not expected to live through such a
complex surgery. She was diagnosed as being terminal. Well, a few years
later, she was still alive and loving life and
still being a princess every day, all day long. Her lungs showed
improvement so she was put on the transplant list for a new heart. She
was excited to be getting a new heart and she spoke of getting her ears
pierced after she got her heart. In June, a heart
was made available to her. Now, we know what has to happen for a heart
to be made available. Teresa’s family understood this and did not take
this for granted. They were very concerned about the family of the child
who died so Teresa could get her heart. Teresa
went into the operating room and told the nurse, prior to being put to
sleep, “Tell my mommy and daddy I love them more.” Oh my, how does a six
year old have more concern for her mommy and daddy when she is going in
to have surgery? Wow. Teresa got her new
heart. She did ok for a while and for the first time, her toes were
pink. Several hours later, her new heart stopped and she needed CPR and
ultimately was placed on ECMO. Her vessels were too small for the new
heart’s vessels and she would need surgery to
correct this. While waiting for surgery, the ECMO machine broke and she
began to bleed out. She survived this and required blood transfusions. A
couple days later, she had surgery to correct the vessels but her heart
still was not working. She was diagnosed
as her body rejecting the new heart. The only thing the doctors could
do was take her back to surgery to put a Berlin heart in and hope for
another heart to be available that would be a better match. During all
of this, Teresa would wake up, sign for water,
try to sing and want the “tubes out of her.” This princess never gave
up. Throughout these long days in the hospital, Teresa kept her tiara on
and she remained a princess. On Monday, July 1, the medical team took
her back into surgery. On her way to the OR,
she gave her family the thumbs up. The medical team did everything they
could for Teresa but the Berlin heart did not work for Teresa and the
wonderful medical team, so loving, they did not want her to die without
her family, wheeled her out of the OR and
into her family’s waiting arms where she took her last breath.
Many
children as well as adults die every day. What made this girl so
special? This little girl had such an amazing spirit. She had an old
soul and she did a lot of teaching. She
knew the meaning of love, deeper than any person I have ever met. She
was always smiling for the camera…almost as if she wanted to preserve
her pictures because she knew she was not long for this earth. A face
book page was set up for her and she attracted
over 5000 people from literally all over the world. She was on news
shows and followed by the world. Google her name and many sites come up
related to her. What six year old child attracts this much attention?
Teresa does. Teresa does because she taught the
world about family and love and life. Despite being so sick, Teresa did
everything she could to keep up with her siblings. She even danced,
just recently, at her dance recital without her oxygen or NG. She willed
herself to be able to lead as normal of a life
as she could despite her medical condition.
What
have I learned from her? I learned that life truly is to be lived. So
often, I would rationalize that I would relax or do something fun,
soon….after the work is done, the house is cleaned and bills are
written out. Life does not wait for us, instead, it keeps moving on,
time keeps ticking away and we better hop on the train of life before it
is too late. Teresa taught me this. She also taught me to fight for
what I want. Go for it and never look back. When
Teresa met her parents, she gave them a hug and called them Mama and
Baba. She never looked back at her life before them but kept moving
forward. Teresa saw the beauty in life as innocent children do…she
taught me to see the beauty in life as well. Teresa
gave me many new friends along the way. Thank you, Teresa, for teaching
me about life. You will be missed a lot. Your picture is on my desk
with a tiara in honor of you. I won’t forget your lessons. They are
etched on my heartThank you Wendy for sharing with us. WE miss Teresa dearly!!!!
8 comments:
Well said!!!!
Such A Touching Story. Thank You For Sharing. I Have Learned Much From Teresa As Well And Will Remember This Beautiful Little Girl And Her Beautiful Family! You Are Often In My Thoughts And Prayers. Dave Stanghellini
So beautiful <3
Thank you precious Teresa we all love you more
A beautiful tribute to Teresa. She definitely inspired many people, me included. Prayers for you and your family. God's peace and love to all of you.
What a wonderful commentary on Teresa - "she never looked back..." maybe that's the message - life MUST be lived...
I know you must miss her terribly - I know that I do - but one day...
hugs - prayers -
aus and co.
Wow.... Beautifully expressed, Wendy!! That is really all I can write, because I've been rendered speechless!! ;)
--Raelyn
Ann and family,
I am praying for you all words just can't make any of this go away. Just know that everyone is loved and want to help in anyway. Teresa has made an inpack in my life. I have never gotten to touch or talk to her but through you she is a piece of my life. Even now that she is and angel in heaven she will never be forgotten. Thank you for sharing your China Princess with us.
It has reminded me to hug my China princess a little harder everyday. You just never know....
Love to you and your family during these rough days, weeks, months,
years.
Robin Martin
In Iowa
Lucky mommy to Jin Yan Wei
Kailee Jin Yan Martin
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