By Amy Fuhrman

Stephanie Hedrick has always been a fighter.

Her parents nicknamed her “The Champ” before she was even born, and she came into this world with a will to survive.

Stephanie Hedrick, 2, was nicknamed “The Champ” before she was born because of her fighting spirit.

- advertisement -

“I know there’s a supernatural strength in that little body, in that little soul, to cause her to fight,” said her mom, Angie Metzger of Mooresville.

Born with Down syndrome and a heart defect, little Stephanie has already faced surgeries and brushes with death in her two short years of life.

But she’s battled back from long odds — at one point Stephanie was on total life support and doctors said she had a 50 percent chance of survival — and has weathered months-long hospital stays with her family by her side.

“Every hour brings me closer to that minute I have to hand her over to them. Every minute brings me closer to seeing her back on that ventilator, back with the tubes and lines. I take nothing fore granted. Today I noticed every scar, every giggle, the way she waves, the way the wind blows through her hair. The way she LOVES everything her brother does. The way her brother looks at her as if to say “Stick with me, I’LL show you how it’s done.” — journal entry by Angie, Sunday, April 20.

On Wednesday morning, Stephanie faced another fight as she went in for her third open-heart surgery. It’s a moment her mother has been dreading.
“To watch your daughter be in pain is horrific,” she said Monday.

But Angie takes comfort in the fact that Stephanie won’t be fighting alone.

She’s a firm believer in the power of prayer — she’s seen it in action — and she knows there will be hundreds of people around the world praying for Stephanie as she goes into surgery and in the crucial days following.

“It’s almost like I can feel when people are sending up these prayers,” Angie said, remembering a night when she put out a call for help. Within 10 minutes, Stephanie’s heart rate began to slowly return to normal. “I was crying.”

“Any time I get discouraged, I can see there are people praying for us,” she said.

“There is a weird mix of faith, accepting Gods plan/will, anticipation, fear, trying to prepare for the worst, hoping for
the best, feeling like all you can do is pray, yet feeling like you can’t pray to request anything specific from God, just his will.” — journal entry by Angie, Sunday, April 20.

There have been days Angie has struggled to understand how God could put Stephanie through everything she’s endured.

“My faith has been rocked to the core,” she said. “I’m angry for the pain my daughter is in.”

But, she said, “I’ve learned so much from this journey with her,” and she’s tried to place her daughter’s fate in God’s hands.

“I know people have been praying for me,” she said on Monday evening, her voice wavering with emotion. “I feel stronger today.”

“Champ was SO SO SOOOO happy to be home when we got here!! She rolled and sat, and play with her toys and books. She had a new found energy!!” — journal entry by Angie, Friday, April 18, describing Stephanie’s joy after being sent home from the hospital.

Earlier this week, the sun peeked out from the clouds, and Stephanie had a chance to head outside with her big brother, Sammy, 4.

A new walker had just arrived, and the little girl was able to walk for just the second time.

“She was going to town,” her mom said.

She dreams of a future for Stephanie filled with moments like those.

“My deepest prayer is that she would just be healed,” Angie said. “I have to choose to believe that God’s got a divine plan. The concept of her dying is unfathomable.”

You must be logged in to post comments. Please Log in or register.