Wish Dish | Share Your Story

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Savannah’s Challenge

Everyone has challenges. Savannah’s spine is twisted so much that her diaphragm on one side can’t punch her lung to get gunk out … on top of that her body is too weak to cough with enough force anyway.

She had to stay home from school today because she coughs incessantly when she gets just a little gunk in her lungs. The attached picture is of her using her cough assist machine to suck gunk out.

We spent a week at Duke University a few months ago as a part of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network. For five days, 10-12 hours per day, we met with doctors, reviewed data from the almost 10 other major hospitals Savannah has visited since she was born, and of course they conducted X-rays, drew blood, told her to cough harder, harder, harder into a tube over, and over, and over again. And they are still stumped. It’s genetic, but we know nothing more than that.

But it’s not a sad story. It’s a challenge.

And everyone has them. Life can be hard. Overwhelming. The unknown can be scary. Watching someone suffer or being the one suffering can break your heart, weigh you down, and feel like it is too much to handle. But it’s not about the challenges; everyone has challenges. It’s about how we live through them.

Savannah lives really well through her challenges and in doing so she inspires me to do the same. She’s not just tough; she is faithful (full of faith). I am sharing this so that you can know that we all have challenges in our lives. Savannah inspires me and I want to help her amplify the voice of her life so she can inspire you too.

Don’t allow the challenges to win. Live well through them; not only will you be happy you did but you’ll inspire others to do the same!

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Savannah’s Challenge

But it’s not a sad story. It’s a challenge.

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