"The Princess of Resilience

Ms. Taleah Tanksley is

More Than A Conqueror"

Written By: Tandra Tanksley

Taleah was born a perfectly healthy baby. However, during ante-natal, I had complications with pre-term labor at five months gestation and was hospitalized for three weeks, resulting in bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. Gladly, Taleah had no health conditions.

When she was twelve years old, she suffered a knee injury in dance practice and underwent knee surgery. The recovery process was challenging for her. The pain was unbearable! She was in a knee brace and crutches for six weeks. Witnessing your child in pain and being unable to do little to nothing to take the pain away was heartbreaking!

The doctor prescribed her pain medications, of course, to take around the clock. Unfortunately, too many of those medications were prescribed, which caused her to be diagnosed with NSAID-induced gastritis. This is where her medical journey begins.

She endured so much pain. Being uncomfortable every second of the day was a lot to take in. It was a lot to bear witness to.  Taleah would be balled up in a fetal position in excruciating pain, and it usually worsens at night. She dealt with that for a few days until, finally, I decided enough is enough. I was apparent nothing was working to subside the pain!

I took her to every children's hospital in town. She was admitted for days yet still feeling the same way. I refused to give up; I knew there was a remedy that would help her. The last hospital we visited before traveling out of town to seek help from other doctors helped her the most and gave Taleah just a little relief. That was more than any other hospital had done. 

There, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis which is similar to Crohn's disease. She dealt with coping with this new diagnosis for a while until one day; she woke up in so much pain that she could not walk by herself. She would use the wall to keep her balance and crawl to get around the house.  There were several procedures she underwent to figure out the what and why. 

After one procedure, while Taleah was in recovery, she flatlined while I and her sisters were at her side. That was the scariest thing I ever observed.  The doctors could not determine what had caused this. 

Eventually, she became bedridden and wheelchair-bound for three years. 

She missed out on four years of her teenage years due to illness. Watching her friends go on with their lives while she was stuck in bed and in pain took a toll on her mental health, which then caused her to fall into depression. With depression comes more medications. Taleah could no longer hold down any food. She lost a tremendous amount of weight. She was always weak and tired because she couldn't gain strength from consuming nutritional food. 

She was admitted to the hospital several times for a week at a time. 

She had a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC)line twice to give her nutrition and IV fluids all day and all night, and by being off it a few hours out of her day—she would lose close to 20 pounds.

At some point, her health improved, and she was able to attend school again; however, she was in a wheelchair. That drew a lot of attention and questions from concerned classmates who hadn't seen her in quite some time. Taleah would hold her head down when I pushed her inside the school or whenever we were outside. She was embarrassed to be seen that way. After all, she was not born with this condition. It was something everyone had to get adjusted to. 

I would always tell her, "Don't you hold your head down. You look up. Look at people in their faces. Let them know you are NOT this diagnosis! It is NOT yours! You are beautiful inside and out!" Everyone wanted to help her. They just wanted to be an aide for her if she needed anything. She never had to push herself around school. She had a buddy to always be there to help her. 

She decided the social discomfort was too much and opted for homeschooling instead. Our lives consisted of constant doctor's appointments and nurses visiting the house weekly. 

At the time, I was still working full-time and caring for my other children. I rarely complained; it became second nature. I was willing to do whatever it took to see my baby healed. I prayed over Taleah every single day, laying hands on her belly. Keeping her as comfortable, protected, and safe as I possibly could. After four long years of pain, suffering, and depression, one faithful day, Taleah miraculously began walking on her own again! It was like witnessing a baby starting to walk for the very first time!

I and everyone around couldn't believe it! To this day, I believe this was her journey, her testimony.  This was something she had to go through to see and witness that God can take you to, pull you through, and bring you out unscathed and with a new outlook on life. 

Today, Taleah is still dealing with the same health issues. However, her health has improved and is better managed and easier for her to cope with. 

She is in her senior year of high school, attending school activities, working, and modeling. She is beautiful, happy, and gaining her weight back and learning to live life, taking nothing for granted. 

Taleah's advice to anyone else going through the same thing is to try to stay strong, always count your blessings, and keep a good support system around you because you'll need that. 

I live by my favorite scripture, Romans 8:28, which says, “To not fret, but to know—and be confident—that all things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose.”

Written By Her Mom Ms. Tandra Tanksley