Look at her.  I mean, take a real, good, close look at her.  What do you see?

Do you see a child that is the size of a toddler, or do you see a sixteen-year-old who is a lot smarter than what people give her credit for?  Do you see the fact that she uses a child-size walker to propel herself from class to class, or do you see a happy, giggling young lady who loves life?

When I look at our sixteen-year-old daughter, Brittyn Hope, I see life.  I see hope.  I see courage.  I see possibilities that reach far beyond the moon.  Above all, I see my child, whom I happen to love very much.

My daughter was born with some unnamed syndrome that is very rare.  She never grew any larger than a one-year-old.  Her brain aged, but her body seemed to be stuck in a timewarp:  she never got any bigger.

Brittyn is a complex mixture of abilities and disabilities.  She can't talk, but she can communicate with her facial expressions and her giggles or screeches.  She gets her point across better than most people who can talk; she is absolutely amazing!  She has some of her baby teeth, as well as some of her adult teeth.  She can walk, but uses a walker to propel her from place to place.   She wears clothes that would fit toddlers. 

We have gone from doctor to doctor, to try to find out what exactly what it is she has; so far, nothing.  They don't seem to have any answers, leaving us feeling more confused than ever.  I have never seen anything quite like it when she was born.  When we were told that Brittyn might have a potential problem, our spirits crashed; it was one of the worst possible moments of our lives.

We have since accepted Brittyn and what is going on with her.  It isn't easy, especially when kids or even adults stare at her or say things that end up coming out all wrong or hurting us.  They act as if Brittyn doesn't know anything when, in reality, she is an A student who is on the honor roll at her school!  She can write and read at college level; she is in the gifted/talented class at her school!

Brittyn will be in the tenth grade come September; she absolutely adores school!  She loves hanging out with her friends, reading, writing, texting her friends (she can't talk, so this is her way to talk to her friends when they can't be nearby), and going shopping.  She loves Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and Beyonce', as well as the late, great Michael Jackson.  She is a music fiend!  :)  In addition to all of that, she also loves the computer; the computer is her world.

Brittyn loves to go to concerts; she has seen everybody from the Jonas Brothers to Loretta Lynn, from Reba McEntire to Michael Jackson, from Miley Cyrus to Celine Dion.  She's met them too, even got their autograph and  had her picture made with them!  She is an instant celeb; when her friends see the piccys from the concerts she's attended, they, naturally, get jealous.

I love my daughter; she is my life, my world.  I would die for her, that's how much I love her.  If something were to happen to her, I would just go to pieces!  I worry about her because she is so little; it is she who usually convinces me that she is a lot tougher than what appears on the surface, and only then can I relax.

I wish I could find out the name of the syndrome she has; until then, all I can do is continue searching, or asking for a doctor who has the answers to my "million-dollar question":  what is exactly going on with my Brittyn?  Why is she the way she is?  Is there anything that can be done to help her or at least make the quality of her life a lot more easier to bear?

Well, Brittyn is rising now, so I must help her get washed up, dressed, and get her her breakfast.  I will write in here again soon; I feel our story isn't done by a long shot!  Until then, this is Christine, her mother, saying so long and God bless!

~Love, your new friend, Christine Paschetti, Brittyn's mom.  :)