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Lisa Welsh
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By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
Shannon, right, "This is what Brave looks like."
CHEERMaD Spotlight: The following “status” comes today from Shannon Kaiser.
“Don’t give up. Quitting isn’t an option. You are going to be wrong sometimes. Part of thinking for yourself, of being empowered, is owning your errors. Don’t be afraid to own your mistakes, to learn from them, and to keep moving forward.”
Me, Rachel, Brenna, Shannon and Brigitte
I met Shannon and her two daughters at a local competition last year; one is an accomplished Youth 5 Allstar, the other’s most important accomplishment is living through each day. As the rest of us were getting our kids off to the first day of school these last few weeks, Shannon spent another seek-and-find mission with her youngest daughter Brigitte in the Boston Children’s Hospital to find out what was making her kidneys fail. Raising a chronically sick child is a daily struggle but one which Shannon handles with grace. Many of you CHEERMaDs are my heroes, including Tina S., Helen D and most certainly Shannon…
Like most All Stars, my daughters’ teams compete against many of the same teams several times a season. After all, there are only so many gyms in the area. And as the season progresses, we CHEERMaDs start to recognize each other at the concessions, in the halls or passing by the stands.
One cheer gym we meet several times a season is East Celebrity Elite, a longstanding powerhouse of outstanding competitors in the Northeast. As impressive as the teams are, their CHEERMaDs are equally serious about supporting them, attending comps wearing the gym’s colors of blue and white, waving metallic blue stars emblazoned with the faces of their cheerleaders and holding flashing, battery-operated, lighted signs.
With intense competitors, it’s easy to get caught up in deductions and outcomes. But in life, CHEERMaDs deal with so much more.
Recently, I got to know Shannon Kaiser, an ECE CHEERMaD, and I could care less if her daughter’s team beats my daughter’s team this year. In fact, if it makes Shannon’s day a little less heavy, I hope that’s just what happens.
Countless days, this mother of four is watching over her youngest child who was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital in Boston again recently. Last week a kidney ultrasound was added to the barrage of tests by the Nephrology, Gastro Intestinal and Metabolism departments.and Psych are all being brought in. Unfortunately, it’s a trip they’ve made many times before.
“It was heartbreaking to read all the back to school posts and not being home to see my big kids off on their first day of sixth, fifth and fourth grades,” Shannon said from Brigitte’s side in the hospital.
This week Brigitte will have major surgery to ease her body’s inability to filter itself.
“What a roller coaster life this is,” she added. “Going to football games and cheer practice one day, then two days later sitting in ICU with no idea what is wrong.”
Brigitte was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease after having serious medical issues since birth. According to Shannon, doctors believe she has two genetic defects which combined cause her mitochondria to malfunction. At the very cellular level, there are problems in every organ system in her body.
If that wasn’t enough, last year Shannon’s youngest son, Sean, 9, had his second brain surgery.
PRO Rachel and ECE Brenna-proud members of the Universal Allstar Community
But Shannon marches on and after meeting this special lady at last year’s Spirit Sports comp, my admiration for her grew even more throughout the season as I watched her throughout the season manage a five-year old with special needs while mastering the crowded arenas with little sitting space and even smaller aisles.
Brenna has begun her third year at ECE on its Youth, Level 5. Rachel and I made sure we watched Brenna compete whenever we were at the same Nationals last season and we plan to do so this year.
“It’s tough being the oldest sibling in a family with a child with major health issues but I think it’s helped teach her about patience, she’s so good with Brenna, and never complains,” Shannon said.
According to Shannon, ECE has been a place where Brenna can go and leave her worries behind, and for the two of them cheering has meant sharing some “normal mother-daughter time.” She especially is thankful for the one-on-one times when the two travel to Nationals in Orlando or Dallas.
“It’s just Brenna and I at those Nationals and it is so great just to “be” with her, no medical issues, no interruptions, just the two of us,” Shannon said. ”I don’t think people realize how special that is when there is so much other stuff going on.”
“Sometimes I overhear others complain about the little things and think ‘If that’s your only problem, then boy, you don’t have any problems.’”
Unfortunately, her problems didn’t wait for long after they returned from Orlando.
“We arrived home on Monday night and Brigitte was admitted to the hospital the next morning,” Shannon said. They spent the next ten days at Children’s hospital during which time Brigitte underwent three surgeries.
Now the family faces another medical emergency but Shannon says she is very grateful that Brenna has cheering to focus on.
“She started ECE with basically a cartwheel and now she’s got her double back-handspring and tuck,” Shannon says, like any proud CHEERMaD. “Brenna learned what hard work really is and that if you put your mind to something you can do anything.”
For more information about Shannon and her family, read her blog at
http://savingbrigitte.blogspot.com, from which the following post was selected:
One thing I have learned through this journey is that there is always going to be stress. It’s a given, especially when you love and adore a child like Brigitte. I have watched that child fight when not a single one of the premier doctors at Children’s Hospital thought she had any fight left in her. She’s still here…So how dare I sit here and say that I cannot do something. Life is hard. Some days more than others. Some hours more than most. I have watched far to many of my good friends lose their daughters in the last year. There may be a day when I am that mom……but in the meantime, my only goal is to make the most of every single day my daughter has on this earth; and make it a damn good one.
By Lisa D. Welsh
www.CHEERMaD.com
Shannon, right, "This is what Brave looks like."
CHEERMaD Spotlight: The following “status” comes today from Shannon Kaiser.
“Don’t give up. Quitting isn’t an option. You are going to be wrong sometimes. Part of thinking for yourself, of being empowered, is owning your errors. Don’t be afraid to own your mistakes, to learn from them, and to keep moving forward.”
Me, Rachel, Brenna, Shannon and Brigitte
I met Shannon and her two daughters at a local competition last year; one is an accomplished Youth 5 Allstar, the other’s most important accomplishment is living through each day. As the rest of us were getting our kids off to the first day of school these last few weeks, Shannon spent another seek-and-find mission with her youngest daughter Brigitte in the Boston Children’s Hospital to find out what was making her kidneys fail. Raising a chronically sick child is a daily struggle but one which Shannon handles with grace. Many of you CHEERMaDs are my heroes, including Tina S., Helen D and most certainly Shannon…
Like most All Stars, my daughters’ teams compete against many of the same teams several times a season. After all, there are only so many gyms in the area. And as the season progresses, we CHEERMaDs start to recognize each other at the concessions, in the halls or passing by the stands.
One cheer gym we meet several times a season is East Celebrity Elite, a longstanding powerhouse of outstanding competitors in the Northeast. As impressive as the teams are, their CHEERMaDs are equally serious about supporting them, attending comps wearing the gym’s colors of blue and white, waving metallic blue stars emblazoned with the faces of their cheerleaders and holding flashing, battery-operated, lighted signs.
With intense competitors, it’s easy to get caught up in deductions and outcomes. But in life, CHEERMaDs deal with so much more.
Recently, I got to know Shannon Kaiser, an ECE CHEERMaD, and I could care less if her daughter’s team beats my daughter’s team this year. In fact, if it makes Shannon’s day a little less heavy, I hope that’s just what happens.
Countless days, this mother of four is watching over her youngest child who was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital in Boston again recently. Last week a kidney ultrasound was added to the barrage of tests by the Nephrology, Gastro Intestinal and Metabolism departments.and Psych are all being brought in. Unfortunately, it’s a trip they’ve made many times before.“It was heartbreaking to read all the back to school posts and not being home to see my big kids off on their first day of sixth, fifth and fourth grades,” Shannon said from Brigitte’s side in the hospital.
This week Brigitte will have major surgery to ease her body’s inability to filter itself.
“What a roller coaster life this is,” she added. “Going to football games and cheer practice one day, then two days later sitting in ICU with no idea what is wrong.”
Brigitte was diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease after having serious medical issues since birth. According to Shannon, doctors believe she has two genetic defects which combined cause her mitochondria to malfunction. At the very cellular level, there are problems in every organ system in her body.
PRO Rachel and ECE Brenna-proud members of the Universal Allstar Community
But Shannon marches on and after meeting this special lady at last year’s Spirit Sports comp, my admiration for her grew even more throughout the season as I watched her throughout the season manage a five-year old with special needs while mastering the crowded arenas with little sitting space and even smaller aisles.
Brenna has begun her third year at ECE on its Youth, Level 5. Rachel and I made sure we watched Brenna compete whenever we were at the same Nationals last season and we plan to do so this year.
“It’s tough being the oldest sibling in a family with a child with major health issues but I think it’s helped teach her about patience, she’s so good with Brenna, and never complains,” Shannon said.
According to Shannon, ECE has been a place where Brenna can go and leave her worries behind, and for the two of them cheering has meant sharing some “normal mother-daughter time.” She especially is thankful for the one-on-one times when the two travel to Nationals in Orlando or Dallas.
“It’s just Brenna and I at those Nationals and it is so great just to “be” with her, no medical issues, no interruptions, just the two of us,” Shannon said. ”I don’t think people realize how special that is when there is so much other stuff going on.”“Sometimes I overhear others complain about the little things and think ‘If that’s your only problem, then boy, you don’t have any problems.’”
Unfortunately, her problems didn’t wait for long after they returned from Orlando.
“We arrived home on Monday night and Brigitte was admitted to the hospital the next morning,” Shannon said. They spent the next ten days at Children’s hospital during which time Brigitte underwent three surgeries.
Now the family faces another medical emergency but Shannon says she is very grateful that Brenna has cheering to focus on.
“She started ECE with basically a cartwheel and now she’s got her double back-handspring and tuck,” Shannon says, like any proud CHEERMaD. “Brenna learned what hard work really is and that if you put your mind to something you can do anything.”
For more information about Shannon and her family, read her blog at
http://savingbrigitte.blogspot.com, from which the following post was selected:
One thing I have learned through this journey is that there is always going to be stress. It’s a given, especially when you love and adore a child like Brigitte. I have watched that child fight when not a single one of the premier doctors at Children’s Hospital thought she had any fight left in her. She’s still here…So how dare I sit here and say that I cannot do something. Life is hard. Some days more than others. Some hours more than most. I have watched far to many of my good friends lose their daughters in the last year. There may be a day when I am that mom……but in the meantime, my only goal is to make the most of every single day my daughter has on this earth; and make it a damn good one.
