Hope for Sydney

   My ex-husband and I have 3 beautiful girls and Sydney is our middle child. She is a sweet, caring girl that always wants to make sure everyone around her is happy. She even wishes for the bad guys in the movies that we watch to go unharmed. From the day she came into this world I knew she was very special. Her purpose here is great, but unfortunately being so young Sydney is not yet aware of the important spot she has in this world. Being extremely empathetic and absorbing the emotions of every sort can leave someone like her overwhelmed and feeling as if there is no purpose. Then of course to top it off, Covid-19 hits and no longer can she interact with others in a social environment outside of home. Instead, this distant learning requires that Sydney along with every child in America  receives their education from behind the screen of a computer. This strips away any form of real life human interaction along with the normal everyday struggles that come with being a teenager, children including Sydney start feeling lonely and hopeless with no end in sight. She expressed this to me prior to the suicide attempt and I immediately set up an appointment with a therapist but the guy kept making appointments and breaking them. I had plans to reschedule for the third time when this horrible event happened. Around midnight on Christmas Sydney told her younger sister that she was gonna go get candy at the corner store. Instead she went to the nearby 50 ft. bridge and let herself fall backwards off it landing in half a foot of rocky water. After realizing she was gone too long her sisters went looking for her and noticed  police and an ambulance near the bridge. A fisherman happened to be down there and heard her hit the water. This amazing man didn't ask any questions about why she was in the water but instead he kept her calm and called 911. We are still looking to find out this man's identity to thank him and let him know now how amazing he is.

      Sydney was rushed to the ER. It was so hard to see her laying on that table not knowing how this would all turn out. After the X-ray we found out that she broke her lower back in two different spots. She had to have two 5 hour surgeries and a double fusion. She has a lot of nerve pain and a numb spot on her thigh where she cannot feel anything. Sydney has a very, very long road ahead of her. She is supposed to make a full recovery. God was with her when she fell because she escaped being paralyzed by millimeters. We are all so grateful.