Tessa is a girl from Ohio who got very sick in March of 2017 she was just 6 yrs old. Strep got into her blood stream, causing an infection and flesh-eating bacteria called necrotising fasciitis. The infection spread through her tiny body so rapidly, that they gave her a 20% chance of survival. They basically prepared her father and I for her death. They said she probably will not make it through the night. We took her to the hospital thinking she just had the flu, so it was much to our surprise that our little girl was minutes away from dying. In order to save her life, they had to amputate her left leg above the knee. Tessa is a very successful competitive dancer. She loves to be on stage and was the youngest child to make the company dance team at her studio just a few months before she got sick. It was heartbreaking to us to hear what was going to have to happen to our baby, but we said do anything you have to, to save our babygirl. They had to cut all the infection out of her body so she has multiple skin grafts that cover the whole left side of her, almost 40% of her body is covered in scars and the skin grafts. We told her when she gets older we can get her plastic surgery to fix all her scars, and she said "no way, I am not worried about them at all, they make me who i am today and they tell my story". She is beautiful inside and out and I love that she sees that.
This little girl beat the odds of survival and came out stronger than ever.
She went back to dance in July of 2017 prior to getting her prosthetic leg but she went with her walker and watched and studied all the other kids, It was so hard for her to not be out there doing what she loves but she was just happy to be there and be alive. She said "mom I am going to dance again! I am going to tumble again too! I know I can do this". I said its going to be hard but I will never tell you that you can't do something, so please don’t ever give up. Those words stuck with her because she never gave up on her hopes and dreams. Just a few weeks after receiving her first prosthetic leg in August of 2017 she was back to dance learning to dance with her new normal. She wanted to be there more than anything, we were worried she wasn't going to be able to keep up but she assured us that she can do it. Her dance studio placed her in one of the company competition dance groups just 4 months after she lost her leg and almost lost her life. If it wasn't for her dance studio and her dance teachers believing in her, I don't think she would be where she is today, they gave her the drive to come back and continue doing what she loves because they believed in her.
She also formed a trio that season with two of her best friends Caleb and Gaven, whom she has been dancing with since she was 5 yrs old. The trio went to competitions in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania and won 1st place platinum awards over any other dance in their category! They went to a national dance competition in Tennessee that year and took home the giant 1st place over all trophy. She is a NATIONAL dance champion! She even took her trio to Las Vegas and they performed at the Rio Hotel for her prosthetic companies yearly convention! Those boys have been by her side since before she got sick, at such a young age they stood by her every step of her recovery and helped her every step of the way. They are the best of friends and will forever be known as "besties for life, yo!"
Tessa gets better and better as time passes. She has mastered roundoff multiple back handsprings, currently learning to do back tucks, and many other new tricks at her weekly dance/tumbling classes. It might take her a minute to figure out how to move and do certain dance moves, but once she figures out what works for her there is no stopping her. Dance competition judges even comment that they would never know she has a prosthetic leg if they didn't see it because she dances so good and keeps right up with her team.
She is determined to show the world that, this hiccup in life will not bring her down, she will rise up to any challenge and do it with her signature smile on her face! She is the most positive person we know. She is our hero.
She wants to show the world what positivity and determination can do! #tessastrong #teamtessa #noexcuses #dreamsdontworkunlessyoudo
