Hannah's story begins with prayer. Her name was chosen by her mother, who prayed for a little girl. Inspired by the Biblical story of Hannah, whose words were \u201cFor this child I prayed,\u201d her mother's prayers were answered. Hannah's name means \u201cGod's favor\u201d or \u201cGod's grace,\u201d which is especially fitting, as her middle name is also Grace. Her family lovingly refers to her as \u201cGrace Grace,\u201d because she is doubly blessed with God's grace.
Some people would define Hannah by her numerous diagnoses such as Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Dysautonomia, CVI, and G-Tube dependant. We choose to define Hannah differently. She is a ray of sunshine and has a spirit that has been described as \u201csweet as honey.\u201d Hannah is almost always happy. She has a smile that lights up her whole face and a laugh that is contagious. Hannah is also a little bit of a diva. The sign on their van says \u201cDiva on wheels\u201d which describes her perfectly. She arrives places with her sunglasses on and is ready to hold court with her numerous fans. Everywhere they go, people are drawn to Hannah and want to come talk to her. Every time they go to church, people young and old come and talk to Hannah and try to get her to smile. Her family jokes that they are just her entourage. Her teacher says that every time they go on community skills, at least one person knows Hannah by name. During her special needs tap dance recitals, Hannah will plant her feet in the gait trainer and refuse to move until the audience gives her class a standing ovation.
Hannah is very social and is happiest when she is out and about. She loves to go to church, school, dance class, therapy, shopping and to entertainment venues like Stone Mountain and the Georgia Aquarium. She absolutely adores beluga whales and will happily sit and watch them for hours at the aquarium. Hannah loves music. She will \u201csing\u201d along to everything from praise and worship music to Broadway to Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. Hannah is quite the girlie girl and loves things that sparkle and shine. She loves lights, especially multicolored lights that flash. As you can see, Hannah is so much more than a girl with special needs. She is a living testimony of God's grace.
"Some people would define Hannah by her numerous diagnoses such as Cerebral Palsy,\u00a0Epilepsy, Dysautonomia, CVI, and G-Tube dependant. We choose to define Hannah differently."
Photos by Niki Murphy
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