My Great Strides Story
Theresa Collar
Fundraising for Orange County Great Strides
Theresa Collar
I am Amy’s mom. When Amy was still with us, I watched from the sidelines as she lived her life jumping over the many obstacles that were set in front of her year after year – obstacles that sat between her and good health. I’m not talking about good health like most people would define it. For Amy, it was defined as ”good enough” health – good enough to get out of the hospital, good enough to go out to dinner, or good enough to just get off the couch. These obstacles frequently forced Amy to rearrange her plans because she was born with cystic fibrosis. In 2009, at the age of 26, she lost the battle that we always knew CF would ultimately win.
Now, this could be a very sad tale, but Amy’s life could never have been described as woeful. It was one of hope and miracles – words tossed around casually on greeting cards, but made so much more meaningful when you had a chance to witness their constant presence in Amy’s life firsthand. When Amy was diagnosed, it would have been so easy for CF to rob her of her childhood as her life suddenly revolved around doctors’ appointments, respiratory treatments, and endless talk about her sputum. But, somehow, Amy was never bitter. She was just glad to be out of the hospital – sometimes just glad to be alive.
The reason Amy inspired all of us is because she loved the life she had been given – a life plagued by chronic illness and the certainty of an early departure. Amy found fun and humor in places others would refuse to look. If you couldn’t see the many scars on her body that were the results of surgeries or hear the cough that rattled through her lungs or see the boxes of medications that she regularly took to manage her disease, you would never know the challenges she endured. She still believed that life was good enough to fight for and that she would overcome each challenge sent her way. She didn’t allow her heart to be surrounded by bitterness that could have easily come from feeling that life was treating her unfairly. She always made us feel hopeful about her condition because she was always hopeful. She taught us about courage and hope and grace in the gentle ways that she handled her life. Amy was truly a loving being – made more unique by the fact that she had CF and knew that her time on Earth would surely be more limited than for most of us. She learned life’s lessons early because she knew she had to. She had an illness, a very serious, life-threatening illness, but she never lived her life “sick”.
I am so, so grateful that I got to be her mom. I wish life had not been so difficult for her and I wish that I could have controlled all the wreckage that was going on inside her body, but I do believe that we all come in and out of each other’s lives to learn the lessons that life has to offer. When I was a new parent, I always envisioned that I would be the one teaching Amy and her brother the important things that they should know. In the end, Amy taught me far more about life than I was ever able to teach her. I truly think that Amy kept digging in her heels and jumped from one challenge to another because she was teaching us about the limitless powers of the far-too-often untapped strength that dwells inside all of us. As we go through our lives and lament about bad hair days, we don’t often get the opportunity to test that potential. I remember absolutely shrinking in the shadow of the strength that she would display day after day. I know --I’m biased. I have always thought that my children lit up the room simply by being in it. But everybody who knew her, from her many friends to the hospital personnel who worked with her, tell me that Amy was different. She accepted that which could not change and embraced it - and even though she never wanted to be anybody’s hero, she become our hero all the same.
We formed Team Amy in 2009 in the spring after Amy passed. During the 16 years that we have been a part of the Great Strides walks, incredible advancements have been achieved in treatments and medications that are available for many in the CF community. We will always be grateful that Amy was able to benefit from the research that was supported by the CF Foundation when she was here and are so proud to be a part of this endeavor that will someday make it possible for CF to stand for “Cure Found”. We would love for you to be a part of Team Amy 2025 as we celebrate and honor our sweet Amy’s memory, while supporting this cause that is so dear to our hearts. Thank you so much for those who choose to support out team with a donation to the CFF. If you would like to join our team, please follow the link to the Team Amy page and join the fun with us on Sunday, May 18 in Huntington Beach!
Now, this could be a very sad tale, but Amy’s life could never have been described as woeful. It was one of hope and miracles – words tossed around casually on greeting cards, but made so much more meaningful when you had a chance to witness their constant presence in Amy’s life firsthand. When Amy was diagnosed, it would have been so easy for CF to rob her of her childhood as her life suddenly revolved around doctors’ appointments, respiratory treatments, and endless talk about her sputum. But, somehow, Amy was never bitter. She was just glad to be out of the hospital – sometimes just glad to be alive.
The reason Amy inspired all of us is because she loved the life she had been given – a life plagued by chronic illness and the certainty of an early departure. Amy found fun and humor in places others would refuse to look. If you couldn’t see the many scars on her body that were the results of surgeries or hear the cough that rattled through her lungs or see the boxes of medications that she regularly took to manage her disease, you would never know the challenges she endured. She still believed that life was good enough to fight for and that she would overcome each challenge sent her way. She didn’t allow her heart to be surrounded by bitterness that could have easily come from feeling that life was treating her unfairly. She always made us feel hopeful about her condition because she was always hopeful. She taught us about courage and hope and grace in the gentle ways that she handled her life. Amy was truly a loving being – made more unique by the fact that she had CF and knew that her time on Earth would surely be more limited than for most of us. She learned life’s lessons early because she knew she had to. She had an illness, a very serious, life-threatening illness, but she never lived her life “sick”.
I am so, so grateful that I got to be her mom. I wish life had not been so difficult for her and I wish that I could have controlled all the wreckage that was going on inside her body, but I do believe that we all come in and out of each other’s lives to learn the lessons that life has to offer. When I was a new parent, I always envisioned that I would be the one teaching Amy and her brother the important things that they should know. In the end, Amy taught me far more about life than I was ever able to teach her. I truly think that Amy kept digging in her heels and jumped from one challenge to another because she was teaching us about the limitless powers of the far-too-often untapped strength that dwells inside all of us. As we go through our lives and lament about bad hair days, we don’t often get the opportunity to test that potential. I remember absolutely shrinking in the shadow of the strength that she would display day after day. I know --I’m biased. I have always thought that my children lit up the room simply by being in it. But everybody who knew her, from her many friends to the hospital personnel who worked with her, tell me that Amy was different. She accepted that which could not change and embraced it - and even though she never wanted to be anybody’s hero, she become our hero all the same.
We formed Team Amy in 2009 in the spring after Amy passed. During the 16 years that we have been a part of the Great Strides walks, incredible advancements have been achieved in treatments and medications that are available for many in the CF community. We will always be grateful that Amy was able to benefit from the research that was supported by the CF Foundation when she was here and are so proud to be a part of this endeavor that will someday make it possible for CF to stand for “Cure Found”. We would love for you to be a part of Team Amy 2025 as we celebrate and honor our sweet Amy’s memory, while supporting this cause that is so dear to our hearts. Thank you so much for those who choose to support out team with a donation to the CFF. If you would like to join our team, please follow the link to the Team Amy page and join the fun with us on Sunday, May 18 in Huntington Beach!
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