Lessons Learned From This 16-Year-Old Champion Will Change Your Heart Forever
There are many winners worth writing about this week—New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees retired after 20 seasons and an NFL record 80,358 total passing yards. College basketball’s various conference champions celebrated their big wins with entry to the upcoming NCAA Tournament. While some of your favorite teams and players were cutting down the nets, one remarkable 16-year-old was bracing for an incision that would start a new chapter in her life.
Isabella stands just 5-foot-3, but her smile makes her the tallest, most beautiful thing in her hospital. She’s been on standby at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago all week, spending her Spring Break hoping to catch a break. In need of a heart transplant, Isabella is being kept close so that should a match become available, surgeons could act immediately.
Full disclosure: I sit on the National Board for Make-A-Wish, and I’ve been cheering for Isabella since meeting her mother a couple of years ago and reading about the Wish granted to her by the Illinois Make-A-Wish chapter. Isabella was set up with a talent agency and a professional photographer so she could experience what it felt like to be a performer.
The fact that she is in a hospital room today is an Oscar-worthy performance in itself. The backstory includes three open-heart surgeries and more than 30 heart-related procedures by age 15. Despite all of the hospital visits, Isabella still managed to become an awesome young golfer. She made her high school team and worked regularly on her game to be a steady contributor. Of course, you can imagine how often she has to trade in tee times for check-up times with her amazing doctors.
Not long ago, I shared her story with two-time Masters Champion and friend Bubba Watson, and he immediately turned his phone sideways and recorded a heartfelt message directly to her. Bubba’s college roommate at the University of Georgia, Eric Compton, has had two heart transplants. So hearing about Isabella’s round on the golf course of life made Bubba an immediate fan.
“I just want to encourage you and let you know I’m thinking about you, and definitely praying for you,” said Watson in the recorded message. He then quickly offered a golf “lesson,” reminding Isabella to practice her short game. He’s won twice at Augusta National, yet immediately recognized that Isabella didn’t need the prestigious Green Jacket to become a champion—she already is one.
This 16-year-old champion with brunette locks continues to teach us all leadership lessons about enduring adversity. Get this… she recently donated her hair to Locks of Love. I asked Isabella recently about how she’s been able to stay so positive and optimistic despite the waiting game and time in the hospital.
The number one thing she does to keep things in perspective and resist the urge to get swallowed up by her situation: Pictures.
She surrounds herself with pictures and photos of friends, family, and special figures that serve as constant reminders to Isabella of all the people who care about her. Focusing on their smiling faces gives her the will to remain hopeful where others might not. Reflecting on those photos gives her the strength to fight for more memories and deeper connections.
The second thing that keeps her relentlessly positive is her commitment to moving forward. She told me she always reminds herself that she must leave her situation behind her in order to move forward.
When she leaves school, she no longer focuses on school life and shifts to home life, she said. Applying that same mindset to leaving her medical worries behind when she leaves the doctor’s office allows her to continue creating positive experiences for herself and others.
It’s easy to celebrate all the amazing things that happen in the national headlines. We celebrate a basketball team’s comeback victory or a baseball team’s walk-off homerun.
Today, let’s also take a moment to celebrate the champs who come back each day and refuse to back down from the obstacles ahead of them—the champions we don’t really get to know.
My hope is that now you know of Isabella—a true champion, golfer, and performer – you add a new “team” to cheer for…the team at Lurie Children’s who are ready to make this champion even greater.
“Do you think I’m not scared?” Isabella shared with me during a phone call. “Of course I am. But I can either be grateful for all the good moments and people who are helping me, or I could be overrun by fear. I’m choosing the good moments!”
What a great choice! Each day that smile appears on her face, I’m more confident there will be an encore.