A word we have seen a lot lately in the local and national news is champions. The 2024 Summer Olympics just came to a close and we have seen or heard numerous stories about the US medal winners and Olympic athletes that attended the University of Tennessee. We have spent the last few months celebrating the Tennessee Vols baseball team winning their first ever national championship. They were honored with a parade through downtown Knoxville and it’s hard to enter a store here locally that you don’t see some sort of apparel or memorabilia being sold that references the championship.  Even in Union County, we have been able to celebrate the State Championship of the UCHS baseball team and track & field championships. And we should not forget the students who are winning in the Ag department.  

When you look up the word champion in the dictionary you will see that there is more than one definition. The one that most often comes to mind is “a person who has defeated or surpassed all rivals in a competition, especially in sports.” That definition is the most commonly used. 

But the definition that means the most to us as a family is “a person who fights or argues for a cause on behalf of someone else.” Why you may ask does this definition mean the most to us: it is because we had so many of this type of champion in our lives since before Isabella was born. Champions come in many forms and the ones that mean the most to us as humans should be those that do not hoist trophies for photos and accolades but rather those that go about their daily lives lifting others. You encounter these champions every day and, in that moment, you may not recognize exactly who they are and what they are doing. 

We have been blessed with many champions in our lives and until we were pregnant with Isabella we were guilty of never really taking the time to appreciate who they were and what they did for us.  Once she and her twin sister Olivia were conceived, we became more aware and truly begin to cherish these heroes. We had doctors who fought for their survival in the womb and although Olivia passed in utero at 22 weeks gestation, the doctors at Fort Sanders Perinatal Center kept a very close eye on Isabella. Although they later confessed, they did not anticipate delivering her alive, they championed for her and our lives are richer because of their efforts. So many doctors and nurses at Children’s Hospital fought for her survival at birth and beyond, helping her grow and enduring her fighter attitude during her 3 months stay in the NICU. Champions emerged when she received various therapies via home health care from the ages of 9 months until the age of 3. She has been smarter than us since an early age and one of my favorite photos is her as a tiny 1 year old making herself gag to the point of throwing up so she would get a break in physical therapy so we could change her.  

I don’t even want to try to list by name the champions in the Union County school system that have loved and encouraged her and us as her parents. I know a lot of people would argue that we are crazy and the staff doesn’t care about the children in school, but I beg to differ. From the time Isabella entered the developmental preschool at the age of 3 until she graduated in May of this year, we have watched her grow and flourish because of those who invested their time and compassion in the students. Whether it was administrators, teachers, aides, therapists or fellow students, so many took the time to appreciate her differences and the light she is.

There are many others in our family, our church family and the general public. So many waiters and waitresses notice her differences when we are in restaurants and they go out of their way to make sure they have what she wants. Cashiers show patience as we try to teach her how to handle the task of shopping and being independent. And there are so many others.

Take a look around and see how you can be a champion. One of the easiest ways to start your training to is to show kindness. Sometimes some of the smallest things in life are what is at the heart of a champion! So, let’s all strive to be a CHAMPION to someone!!