My Great Strides Story
Tracey Pondillo
Fundraising for Inland Empire Great Strides
Tracey Pondillo
This is a story of love. A love that knows no bounds & has no limitations. A love that continues to grow with every passing day. It is the story of Elisabeth Silvestre-Leal.
Elisabeth was born on March 13, 1991. The day of Elisabeth's birth was such a blessed day & her arrival was eagerly awaited by everyone in this family. She had a big brother who was eager to play with his new sister & show her how to wrestle with his action toys. Grandparents, who couldn't wait to spoil their first Granddaughter. She had Aunts & Uncles who waited on bated breath to hold, hug & love this newest addition to our family as we all did. Elisabeth was this lil'bitty, 9lb 5oz beautiful, little baby girl that we fell in love with the moment we laid eyes on her. We knew that God had blessed us. A few months later we knew there was something wrong with our Lil' Bit. At 6 months old, & after visiting half dozen different doctors, she still wasn't gaining weight like most babies her age. She also had a little wheezing sound when she breathed. The day came when her dad & Grandma Cruz rushed her to me because she wasn't breathing right. Her father & I rushed her to the Redlands Hospital ER where we found the wonderful Dr. Mary Mailander. She promised to help us find out why our baby girl was always so sick. A few tests & a few days later we found out that she had Cystic Fibrosis.
We learned that patients with CF only had an average life span into their early teens. We were told by the doctors of a few things to expect with the upbringing of children that will be in & out of the hospital & that they tend to be shy & reserved & not always able to be social in all social situations.
As devastated & hurt as we were we were both determined to make Elisabeth’s up bringing as normal as possible & never let her think she was any different than any other child out there. And I believe we did just that. Elisabeth did have her moments of shyness in her younger years but once she hit pre-teen it was GAME on! She busted out of her shell & found her strength to be whom & whatever she wanted to be. With such wonderful & strong Family members & Friends supporting her, the world was at her fingertips.
Even with so many hospital visits to get her "Tune-Ups" of heavy antibiotic & breathing treatments Elisabeth kept strong. She worked twice as hard as anyone else I know to keep her grades up while in the hospital or on home on IV's & still found time to support her family & friends whenever they needed her. I don't know how she did it, but she did it with grace & wisdom beyond her years.
Elisabeth enjoyed taking trips to Arizona to watch Grandpa Jim & Uncle Brian play baseball. She loved going to Disneyland & even made a trip out to Disney World. She was involved in 2 of her uncle’s weddings & enjoyed every minute of it. Elisabeth was also granted a wish by the Make a Wish Foundation where she was able to enjoy herself at the Mall of America, shop, & get her makeup done at the Mac Store & then shop some more. Elisabeth also enjoyed working at her mom’s office where she was able to spend time with mom & her aunts.
Elisabeth met the love of her life & soul mate, Richard Leal who eventually became her husband on December 12, 2009. Richard is the man who understood her best & loves her deeply & understood everything that she was having to go through since he also has CF. Elisabeth has actually given us a second chance by knowing Richard & having Richard in our lives, & I don't think many of us have realized what a gift she gave us by bringing Richard into our lives.
Even though we miss her terribly & we are all so angry with this disease & we wish we had done more with helping find a cure for her, I am sure she would remind us all that there are still thousands of CF patients out there, fighting for their lives who could still benefit from your help in finding a cure. So it is with this love that Elisabeth had that we must continue to love & help end this disease.
And so, this story doesn’t really end because Elisabeth’s love will last forever in everyone’s hearts.
♥️
There is currently no cure for cystic fibrosis and too many people with CF die young. I’m walking to help change that reality.
Will you help us end cystic fibrosis?
By donating to my fundraising goal, you have the power to advance the research and science needed to drive our shared dream forward – a cure for everyone with CF.
Elisabeth was born on March 13, 1991. The day of Elisabeth's birth was such a blessed day & her arrival was eagerly awaited by everyone in this family. She had a big brother who was eager to play with his new sister & show her how to wrestle with his action toys. Grandparents, who couldn't wait to spoil their first Granddaughter. She had Aunts & Uncles who waited on bated breath to hold, hug & love this newest addition to our family as we all did. Elisabeth was this lil'bitty, 9lb 5oz beautiful, little baby girl that we fell in love with the moment we laid eyes on her. We knew that God had blessed us. A few months later we knew there was something wrong with our Lil' Bit. At 6 months old, & after visiting half dozen different doctors, she still wasn't gaining weight like most babies her age. She also had a little wheezing sound when she breathed. The day came when her dad & Grandma Cruz rushed her to me because she wasn't breathing right. Her father & I rushed her to the Redlands Hospital ER where we found the wonderful Dr. Mary Mailander. She promised to help us find out why our baby girl was always so sick. A few tests & a few days later we found out that she had Cystic Fibrosis.
We learned that patients with CF only had an average life span into their early teens. We were told by the doctors of a few things to expect with the upbringing of children that will be in & out of the hospital & that they tend to be shy & reserved & not always able to be social in all social situations.
As devastated & hurt as we were we were both determined to make Elisabeth’s up bringing as normal as possible & never let her think she was any different than any other child out there. And I believe we did just that. Elisabeth did have her moments of shyness in her younger years but once she hit pre-teen it was GAME on! She busted out of her shell & found her strength to be whom & whatever she wanted to be. With such wonderful & strong Family members & Friends supporting her, the world was at her fingertips.
Even with so many hospital visits to get her "Tune-Ups" of heavy antibiotic & breathing treatments Elisabeth kept strong. She worked twice as hard as anyone else I know to keep her grades up while in the hospital or on home on IV's & still found time to support her family & friends whenever they needed her. I don't know how she did it, but she did it with grace & wisdom beyond her years.
Elisabeth enjoyed taking trips to Arizona to watch Grandpa Jim & Uncle Brian play baseball. She loved going to Disneyland & even made a trip out to Disney World. She was involved in 2 of her uncle’s weddings & enjoyed every minute of it. Elisabeth was also granted a wish by the Make a Wish Foundation where she was able to enjoy herself at the Mall of America, shop, & get her makeup done at the Mac Store & then shop some more. Elisabeth also enjoyed working at her mom’s office where she was able to spend time with mom & her aunts.
Elisabeth met the love of her life & soul mate, Richard Leal who eventually became her husband on December 12, 2009. Richard is the man who understood her best & loves her deeply & understood everything that she was having to go through since he also has CF. Elisabeth has actually given us a second chance by knowing Richard & having Richard in our lives, & I don't think many of us have realized what a gift she gave us by bringing Richard into our lives.
Even though we miss her terribly & we are all so angry with this disease & we wish we had done more with helping find a cure for her, I am sure she would remind us all that there are still thousands of CF patients out there, fighting for their lives who could still benefit from your help in finding a cure. So it is with this love that Elisabeth had that we must continue to love & help end this disease.
And so, this story doesn’t really end because Elisabeth’s love will last forever in everyone’s hearts.
♥️
There is currently no cure for cystic fibrosis and too many people with CF die young. I’m walking to help change that reality.
Will you help us end cystic fibrosis?
By donating to my fundraising goal, you have the power to advance the research and science needed to drive our shared dream forward – a cure for everyone with CF.
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