#HopeForOlivia

HUSTLE FOR HOPE

  

   April is HIE awareness month, and this year we co-hosted our seventh Hustle for Hope 5K with Hope for HIE's very own social worker intern, Kimberly Taylor. Hustle for Hope was created by the nonprofit organization Hope for HIE to increase awareness, education, and support. Olivia was diagnosed with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy at birth. It's a type of birth injury causing newborn brain damage that is caused by oxygen deprivation and limited blood flow. We utilize this event as a way to support and connect with others on their journey. This year was our first year partnering with Los Barberos in Auburn, WA to do Cuts for Hope as well. Our community truly showed up to give back. Thank you to everyone who made this happen! 

#HopeForOlivia #HopeForHIE #HustleForHope #HoldOntoHope

Below are the 2026 Hustle for Hope 5K photos
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who is helping to make this a yearly tradition :)

How do you do it?

 

 

Simple answer, day by day. If past me knew what obstacles future me would face, I would’ve said there’s no route to survival. I guess God knew what he was doing when he wouldn’t let me see the future. The beginning of 2025, I scrolled across a crossword puzzle from another medical mom on Instagram. She wrote, “the first 3 words you find will be how your year goes.” I found purpose, miracles, breakthrough in that order. I decided to manifest this for our life. As a child, I was known for stubborn believing. For example, I was at a Benny Hinn event for my birthday with hundreds of other people. I turned to my mom and told her; I am going to get a picture with him. I found a security guard, told him it’s my birthday, and that I would like a picture with Benny Hinn. Not long after, I was called up on stage by Benny Hinn for a picture. Looking back now, I was manifesting as a child. As l gained life experiences, some good, some bad, somewhere along the way I lost that. This was the year I was determined to gain it back.

Medical life can easily overwhelm a human being and it’s so important to not let it break you down. Sometimes it’s your mental health that gets you through a really tough situation. I have been blessed with a family and friend support system. I have a mother and brother who signed themselves up to be certified state caregivers to help care for my daughter. There is a page of inspiring quotes taped in my bathroom. But when that’s not enough and the weight of her health crisis is weighing me down, I reach out to diagnosis specific support groups. Reading firsthand how other families navigate similar circumstances is immensely beneficial for those walking their first steps.

But I didn’t just happen upon these groups, and I didn’t wait for help to come my way. Early on in this journey, I had what I would consider a mental breakdown. I was aware I was mentally drowning, and I knew doing nothing was not a sustainable way to continue life. I was naturally born with a fierceness and that’s what I needed to pull myself up and out. I took it upon myself to sign up for mindfulness therapy not knowing if that was the answer. I gained countless tools through therapy and learned that this in conjunction with other healthy habits can help propel you forward and make life manageable again. The exhaustion of mixing together a 24hr feed for your child and her machine, administering multiple medications at different times, constant position changes, therapy, and doctor visits on a daily basis is out of this world. Through the exhaustion I would catch a glimpse of my daughter and tell her, “I would move heaven and earth for you.” But how can I promise that if I am not in a condition to do so? It is so easy to say my child is priority above all, but it is also necessary to care for myself so I can advocate for her.

It's no surprise the system is setup for medical families to fail. They make you fill out a book long application until your personal life and finances are naked and bare for them to discuss how they please. Then you may or may not be approved for pennies on the dollar. Mind you a simple google search will tell you the average price of a basic pediatric wheelchair is $4,000+, electric Hoyer lift to safely transport your child (not ceiling mounted) is $3,000, a medical bed is over $2,000. Why do I tell you this? Because no, insurance does not always cover everything, and you can’t save up for these items because then you are ineligible to qualify for further help. But this is not a dead-end street. If a group of people know how to find a way, make a way, or create a way, it’s medical parents. There is a secret underground mafia mom mob exchanging high-cost medical equipment and supplies. Okay, it’s not really an underground mob, but it is a group of individuals who morally believe not charging others who are in need is the route to go. It is out of the kindness of their heart to help others, as the world should be. When you find this group, don’t let them go! Don’t know where to look? Ask around and then ask some more. Keep going until you find it.

The days that life doesn’t feel manageable, is where my faith comes in. It looks different now than what it did before entering the special needs parent world. I couple the reality of my daughter’s diagnosis with the hope that miracles are still possible. When your child has one of the most severe forms of epilepsy that affect her day to day living, you start seeing little bits of her fading over time. I have to believe there’s hope, I have to manifest it. I started 2025 off strong believing her life has a purpose, a seizure-free miracle was coming, along with her breakthrough. I was in contact with the providers about her research study getting published and how the medication we’ve been waiting for was finally in a substance she could take. This was it! In August the provider shattered those once hopeful thoughts. We discovered that medication targeted a different pathway than what my daughter needed. There were no alternatives or next steps offered. It was back to the drawing board. I cried and prayed and cried and prayed some more. This was supposed to be her year, why didn’t it happen? Through my processing I realized my early 2025 manifestations weren’t directly about Olivia as much as it was for God. That his purpose for us is beyond anything we could imagine, he has worked miracles for Olivia and still can, and breakthrough is taking place by merging western medicine and faith. Maybe praying to God for strength to believe for a miracle isn’t your thing. Maybe it’s a higher power of some sort or the universe. Whatever it is for you, it is something you have to seek for yourself.

My character, my nature, is to give back. It helps refill my cup. Now that I am over 6 years into this, I can see the gaps that existed in the early years, and I can help to ensure other families don’t experience the same. Find what fills your cup and continuously fill it. Overfill it if you can so that there’s reserve on the days your soul is running empty.  I am good at advocating and even better at surviving. Maintaining my focus on day to day helps my mind from spiraling into the unknown future. My hope is while you read this, you were able to pick up some options to try out, and that you don’t have to seek and research every option, just know that help is on the way.

Bruno The Miracle Dog

 

The day is here it has finally come; the inevitable has arrived. My miracle dog Bruno of 13 years will make his debut over the rainbow. We get to do it our way and ensure a comforting yet healing departure. He’s not just a miracle dog. He has been my therapist through struggles, the protector of our family, the mediator during arguments, and so much more. Anyone who comes in contact with him can’t help but to love him. Take the most profound non-animal lover and place them around Bruno. Guaranteed they are leaving with a new heart for a dog like him. He wasn’t always that way though. Any dog owner will tell you; puppy stage is rough.

I can still remember when my sister sent me a CraigsList listing of puppies, she had no business sending me. She knew I didn’t want any pets as I had just received keys to a new apartment. She also knew I would click that link and do it despite what I said. What can I say? She was right. Once I clicked, an adorable picture of 3-day old boxer puppies popped open. I went on to read that they were located in Auburn, about 20 minutes from my apartment. The mom was a very large boxer rescue that happened to be pregnant. They were unsure of the father but did see a sighting of a border collie male nearby. I thought, “well I’ve already clicked the link, I might as well go see them and just look.” So, I called my sister and we drove down.

Upon arrival, we saw black and white long-haired female puppies on the apartment living room floor, and brindle short haired boys. I immediately gravitated towards two of the boys who looked fairly similar with similar temperaments. The only distinguishing mark that set these two apart from each other was a white mark around the nose. At that moment I knew I wasn’t going to be able to leave that apartment without first making sure that puppy with the white mark around his nose would be mine. I didn’t come ready with a deposit because remember? I was “just looking.” So, I asked my sister to help spot me some of the deposit since she was the reason I was there, and we made it happen. Mind you I was 21 years old at the time and had no grasp or comprehension on what type of long-term decision I was making. But I knew it was my decision to make and there were no return policies or dog pound drop offs in my eyes.

Seven more weeks went by before I finally went to officially pick him up with my mom and brother. I never researched the do’s and don’ts with puppies, so the first couple of nights he cried, I went and laid with him. That quickly became uncomfortable, so we moved to the bed. That soon became a habit for the both of us. The mom guilt struck almost immediately each time I had to leave for work, so I would give him free range of the apartment. You can imagine the destruction a puppy can do in just a few hours flat. I left that apartment with no deposit returned in addition to owing an additional $1,100.00 for baseboards, carpet, doors, and porch (yes, he chewed on the porch). I learned quickly what not to do after that, but also if he gets through that front door to outside, we are now playing a 30-minute game of tag.

Around 1 year of age was Bruno’s first miracle. I was walking him alongside Redondo Boardwalk with my now sister-in-law when he went to the crosswalk and was struck by a car. I watched his body slide from one end of the road to the other. In that split second, I thought for sure he was dead. I didn’t realize how many other people watched it happen as well. They soon all began to crowd around us to check if he was okay. Surprisingly, Bruno got up and walked over to me. The driver was extremely apologetic and we exchanged information. We quickly got him to the car, and I drove him to the emergency vet. They assessed him and explained how lucky he was that the only injuries he sustained was road rash. I counted my blessings that day and knew a miracle had just occurred. That same year I met my now husband. He couldn’t believe how well I treated what he would call a “bad dog.” But he couldn’t say anything because Bruno was mine. Another year past when he moved in and felt like it was time he finally put his foot down about the dog. Since Bruno’s shenanigans continued, he gave me the ultimatum; him or the dog… Well folks, I think we all know what decision I made. Nonetheless he stayed too and they grew to be best friends as Bruno matured into a well-behaved dog.

He was only a few years old when he received his first cancer diagnosis. We removed some small tumors and prayed for the best. I was aware cancer was prevalent in Boxers, but for now he was my walking miracle yet again. Eventually we bought our first home and during the searching process, he was with us in the car each time we went to look. He now had a fenced backyard and soon gained a Beagle sister we named Lucy. Life continued to evolve for our family and during our miscarriage and birth of our first daughter, Bruno remained caring in nature. He was never upset about the new additions, as long as he still got his butt rubs. Shortly after our first daughter was born, we made the decision to sell our home and move into something more fitting for our disabled daughter. The interim time was chaos. We had just moved into a temporary rental when I found out I was pregnant with our second daughter. The pregnancy was extremely tough for me and each day was survival. It was at this time when Bruno became extremely sick, and we were told he had a large cancerous mass in his chest that was inoperable. They gave him weeks to maybe 3 months if we were lucky for him to live. I made the hard call and scheduled for an in-home euthanasia. We cried and cried not wanting to let him go but knew it was out of our hands. As if life wasn’t hard enough, that same week my daughter had a prolonged seizure that needed rescuing and emergency services. I called 911 and we took a trip to the hospital. I can still remember on the way to the hospital, sharing with the paramedic that I had just found out I was pregnant, but also needed to put my dog down, and look for a house for my disabled daughter. Poor guy didn’t know what to say. But this incident was how Bruno was saved. We had to stay in-patient with our daughter and cancel Bruno’s death appointment. I told them over the phone that once we were discharged, I would call back to reschedule. Can you guess what happened? Once we got home, Bruno was completely fine as if nothing had ever happened. No more shaking or panting in pain. No more accidents around the house and he was eating again. So, I never called back.

That gave us 3 additional years. Three years to process and to know what’s coming. But also, three years to soak up each additional day with him. You could see as time went on that his body was slowing down on him. One thing the vet always told us, was that he had a strong heart. They believe that is what kept him going. They don’t know why the tumor never ruptured as they predicted, but we do know he’s lived through miracles before. Bruno has been with us through some tough times and also experienced some pretty great milestones too. Now it’s our turn to be there for him and let him know it’s okay to go. He doesn’t need to suffer for our family; we will be okay. His aura of love, ability to tune into your emotion, with a face that can speak volumes, that’s the type of connection he had with people. That’s Bruno’s legacy of love he is leaving behind.

7/29/2012 - 11/14/2025