When I was 5 1/2 years old, I had a stroke that completely paralyzed the left side of my body. I could not even sit up unaided. The doctors told my parents that I would never walk again. My parents did not tell me this at the time, instead just insistently told me that with God’s help I was going to walk out of the hospital. I believed them, and a couple days later I started to move the muscles in my left side. Thirteen days after the stroke which destroyed the part of my brain that controlled all the voluntary movement in the left side of my body, I ran out of the hospital. My doctor, Dr. Gertan, one of the top children's neurologists in the East Coast, was amazed. No one could explain my recovery. He asked if they could film me for the children's miracle network fundraiser, so we told my story on the television.

   While in the hospital I saw children who were dying, or crippled and unable to heal. I will never forget "Little Johnny", a tiny African American, 3 year old boy, who shared the I.C. Unit with me. He had tubes in his throat so he could not talk, but his eyes were so gentle and expressive. We became friends. After I started getting better I was moved into a regular room. I shared it with a 15 year old girl named Delilah. I did not understand why she looked so thin that you could see the shapes of her bones through her skin. She was very nice to me, and my mom gave her art lessons.

   When I was in the hospital my parents took turns staying with me. They never left me alone. But I did not see any other parents doing that. When I was older  my parents told me what they had kept from me in the hospital and also that Johnny and Delilah had died from their diseases. My parents felt that they had to convince me that I was going to be ok, so that I could rise above my situation, or I might not have been able to do it. If I would have known at the time that my two room mates were dying and I was not suppose to recover, it would have been harder for me to believe God would grant me a miraculous healing.

    I want to help empower and comfort others.

   I am home-schooled and by choice a vegetarian. My interests include; art, digital graphics, writing, gardening, different cultures, anime/manga, film making and environmental-humanitarian issues.

Autumn donated 12 inches of hair, to Locks of Love.

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