The December Varsity FBC Project: Chiari and Molly

Varsity FBC is in year three of advanced friendship bracelet making. Our team includes 45 girls from around HSE and across the Midwest. One of our goals is to provide opportunities for these girls to partner together to do small things with great love. Each month I'm going to give them a project where they can make bracelets for a cause. Together we can make a bigger impact than if we were trying to do it on our own.

Meet my friend Molly. She's in 7th grade, the biggest animal lover you'll ever meet and she lives life like it's party every single day. I was lucky enough to be her teacher this past semester and she was consistently one of the brightest spots each day. When I walk into my classroom and say, "Hello! What's going on?" students rarely answer with enthusiasm and many don't answer at all. But not Molly. She would sit up straight in her chair and yell, "Hi Miss Wright!" Her zeal is contagious. 

When our school went to Tecumseh for our Fall Field Trip Molly's mom Mindy came along as a chaperone. She is a riot and quickly became best friends with Ellyn and me. The three of us were a giggling gang-- I know where Molly gets her positivity and silliness from. Molly came to Wyld Life a few times and continued to be the life of the party. 

Over Thanksgiving Break Molly's family discovered that her concussion symptoms that suddenly took a turn for the worst were actually symptoms of something called Chiari Malformation. Basically it means that part of Molly's brain was extending into the brain stem where it shouldn't have been. They quickly got an appointment with Riley and set up her surgery to fix Kiki (Molly's nick name for her brain). 

I visited Molly and her family at Riley Children's Hospital two days after the successful surgery. Even while healing, Molly is still full of pep and energy. We watched the New Year's Eve Ever Wagon Drop, tried out her new Sea Turtle slippers, visited the Kids' Zone and the library and tried the color change couch.

In honor of Molly, the girls of Varsity FBC made friendship bracelets (mostly purple, the color for Chiari Awareness) for Riley which will be given to other Chiari Malformation patients like her. Molly is doing great and I can't wait till she's back at school when she is fully recovered.

Bracelets this month were made by Grace Freund, Elise Ruby, Brooke Ratliff, Hannah Lyon, Taylor Pozzebon, Claire Shumaker, Caroline Shumaker, Brynn Urban, Mallory Myers, Grace Eckhardt, Carolyn Nohren, Ella Ruston, Makenna Hoftiezer, Ellen Baker, Tori Elliott, Rachel Kent, Julia Dewolf and Sarah Wright.