EO: 211 A Tiny Pre-Term Survivor as a Teen - Talking with Laiya and mom Charity

Website: www.charitylasha.com

Contact Charity: admin@charitylasha.com

Key Takeaways

Miracles require going through difficult processes - wanting a miracle and being willing to endure the challenging journey to achieve it are two different things that require faith and commitment.

Parents of NICU babies need support too - while medical teams and loved ones focus on the sick infant, parents often neglect their own emotional and physical wellbeing and need reminders that they will also be okay.

Hope can be cultivated through small daily practices - naming a feeding tube "Hope" transformed a medical device into a daily reminder of possibility and positive thinking.

Pushing children beyond their comfort zones builds critical skills - introducing children to various activities like music, cooking, and sports develops executive function, dexterity, and self-confidence, especially important for children with developmental challenges.

Living in the present moment provides strength during crisis - focusing on "we're still alive right now" rather than catastrophic future possibilities can provide the resilience needed to continue fighting.

Statistics don't determine individual outcomes - despite a 7% chance of normal life, faith, determination, and consistent effort can lead to outcomes that defy medical predictions.

Reframing negative self-talk matters - changing "I'm a sick kid" to "I'm a kid that gets sick" shifts perspective from identity to temporary circumstance.

Quotable Moments

"Who am I to stop the opportunity at life? But at the same time, I didn't want to be selfish." - Charity on making the decision to give Leia a chance at life.

"I think oftentimes we like to want miracles to happen in our lives, and we're excited to hear about other people experiencing miracles, but we're not always willing to go through the process of what that looks like practically." - Charity on the reality of miracles.

"I decided that we had two options. I was either going to leave the hospital with my kid or I was going to leave the hospital with my kid." - Charity on refusing to consider giving up.

"The idea of thinking about having a funeral for a 6-year-old was just not an option." - Charity on what drove her determination.

"Hope, which is the belief that a positive future is possible. And it's often accompanied by a sense of expectation and desire for an outcome to occur." - Charity defining why she named the feeding tube Hope.

"Stay encouraged and stay courageous." - Leia's message to babies in the NICU and their families "I think the one thing I would have wanted to know is that charity, you're going to be okay too." - Charity on what she wishes someone had told her during the NICU stay.

"Jesus is not dead. He's alive." - Charity's billboard message.

"Strong elephant actually meant that I was going to get through it. And like, I'm very strong and brave 'cause elephants are not scared of anything." - Leia explaining her book illustration.

"With practice and consistency and me encouraging her to believe in herself. She then gets things that someone else may have said she would never be able to do." - Charity on her parenting philosophy.

Show Notes by Barevalue.