Payton and her Graduation

We welcome Payton’s mom as a guest blogger today to share her story.

Payton has an aggressive form of spinal degenerative disc disease, as well as many other additional challenges she faces. She has spent a majority of her last 3 yrs in high school either in the hospital while also being under very intense home treatment plans. She lives with pain constantly, it is a constant companion. Education has always been very important to Payton, she has high goals of attending very competitive universities to study music performance and ultimately to become a music therapist. Music has helped her through every step of her journey, and she also gives music lessons to kids in the neighborhood who wouldn’t be able to do so otherwise.

Payton had earned her HS diploma after her sophomore year, but decided to stay with her friends and go into the IB program. It was shortly after she was rushed to the hospital in severe pain, not being able to walk or stand straight. She could have chosen at that point to choose a different route, as she spent so much time in the hospital and doing things as simple as her hair or makeup were now things that took hours. In order to be able to make it through the day, she had to spend lunch everyday in the nurses office resting and using heat. As a social girl, this was another sacrifice. Most students didn’t know Payton was as ill as she is-she has always chosen to be upbeat and positive and didn’t want extra attention.
The end of her senior year was extremely challenging, however she still chose to do whatever it took. She was in severe constant pain, was losing feeling in her legs and had developed extra fluid on her brain and optic nerve pressure that left even her vision a constant struggle. But she made it!

The BEAUTIFUL cake that was made by Hallena Hinkle of Amazing Bakes was nothing short of a work of art! Having it directly led to Payton wanting to have a celebration open house following her graduation. It set the tone of exactly how special the day was and gave the extra inspiration to really celebrate the day. The cake was SO much more than just a cake. It was love and support and countless hours of time spent to help celebrate an occasion most thought she would not get to (in the traditional way she wanted to). Everyone took pics of the cake. It truly was the center of the celebration. It really reminded Paytonwhat a big deal the accomplishment is, and that she was worth celebrating.

The genuine kindness and care from Hallena is something none of us will ever forget. We have always been a family who celebrates everything and anything. However, with all of the demands of an illness such as Payton’s, we have just been too tired or busy. This gift really reminded us how important it is to not only be grateful but to celebrate again.

We are a big pay it forward family… even in the hospital Payton is always making blankets, beanies for the babies, giving piano and vocal lessons, and this amazing gift really helped her to understand how it feels to be on the receiving end of the service. What an amazing organization and an amazing Sugar Angel we were blessed with! This changed us all, as well as the many, many people we have shared the story with… and it was DELICIOUS!

There aren’t proper words to describe what an amazing experience we had. This beautiful cake spurred us on to have a full open house for the graduation celebration. It changed so much! And it was fun to hear Payton say how the cake was so representative of her life-the outside was all smooth and beautiful, but the inside was rough and full of the hard things she had to overcome, while also being beautiful under pressure.