Have you ever been in a situation where there seems to be no light and you feel like there’s no other choice but to be strong for everyone else including yourself? This is how I felt when I was hospitalized 2011. I was keeping a smile on my face as much as possible in hopes my mom would sleep more and maybe not worry as much.

One morning there was loud and continuous screams in the hallway around 6 a.m. Being in a children’s hospital, there could be more odd things to happen. Although, I found myself being inconvenienced by this wakeup call which almost topped the wakeup call from the horrible resident doctors. When we asked one of the nurses, who was screaming she said it’s just Colyiah, the nurses bought her shoes that light up….

She had never worn shoes before this morning. Coliyah was 4 years old at the time and was born with multiple health issues which had caused her to be in and out of the hospital for as long as she’s been alive, at OLOLCH hospital she had her own room and a specific bed that was pulled out every time she was admitted in the children’s long-term ward Colyiah chose to decorate with stickers from all her favorite TV shows and movies.

At the age of 2, she became a ward of the state because her mom had failed to prep her for two organ transplant surgeries which she needed, she always had a guardian with her, specifically these two ladies would rotate every other day, she referred to both including the head nurse of the children’s ward who delivered her, mama and her real mom was allowed a supervised visit once a week. After I officially met Colyiah, she was as tall as my knees, with dark brown skin and eyes, the cutest little braids and always had one of the most cheerful and happy voices.

You would never know under her pajamas she had a permanent IV, known as a PICC line, as well as a bag that collected the “food” that she was unable to digest which needed to be switched out multiple times a day.

During the month while I was in the hospital I was able to play and enjoy time with Colyiah, most of the time I would participate in her favorite game, which was throwing and retrieving a plastic egg, this was such a simple game that brought this little 4-year-old girl who had literally nothing more happiness than I’ve seen in anyone.

This little girl became my light in all the darkness that I faced within that month and has continued to help me in every hard time since. Colyiah has shown me that no matter how difficult or depressing many situations can be, someone most likely close to you is going through something much more difficult and the way you choose to look at things can completely change the situation.

So, to the little girl who had no clue that her contagious spirit and kind heart could inspire so many and taught me the greatest life lesson one can learn that I will continue to cherish and hopefully use to the best of my abilities, I commemorate Colyiah for being one of the brightest lights in my darkest times.