Hannah was born on February 21, 1986, a cold Friday evening. But her story begins before her birth. It begins with her biological mother, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a silly romantic girl who would follow her heart quicker than her head. Elizabeth was fifteen when she gave birth to her daughter. She'd fallen in love with a teenage boy, and they were stupid. The boy refused to marry her so her strict parents decided to send her away while pregnant with Hannah. When she gave birth, she decided to give her daughter a better life than she could. She signed away her rights to her daughter.
By the age of one, her adoption was legal and binding to the Laura and Stephen Knight. They were a couple already blessed with seven children, three daughters and four sons. She evened out the count with four daughters and four sons, making the total count a nice round ten. The count would later be added to with a little brother. She was raised knowing she was adopted and loved no differently from her siblings who were Claire and Stephen's biological children. When someone would find out she was adopted, she would usually be asked if she wanted to find her family. She would respond she had a family.
Then she got sick and was eventually diagnosed with leukemia at the ripe old age of six. She had her father track her biological family down for medical purposes, and only medical purposes. It was discovered her biological father's brother died at the age of ten from leukemia. Hannah did not. She needed a transplant badly. She felt bad hoping for one, because it meant someone had to go through tests and surgeries that she did. They had to be poked with needles that made the child not want to open her eyes until her mommy told her they were gone.
She felt bad about hoping someone would get sick and die, but that was her only chance to live. And she wanted to grow up. She wanted to grow up bad. So she hoped and prayed that she would get a transplant. She did, after a long wait while she got weaker and weaker. She had a permanent room in the hospital and she got homesick.
Finally, her doctor came in with good news. A patient in the ER was dying. He had a donor card and they were a match. She got his marrow moments after he died. She attended the funeral. After that, everything she did, she did for him too. If she felt the wind on her face, it was because of that kind man.
While she was in the hospital, she decided it would do no good to complain about it after a talk with a nurse. The nurse told her there was no point in making everyone feel as miserable as her when they were doing all they could. The nurse had a good point. Everyone knew already anyways. So she stopped complaining about it and made herself look for a gift in everyday, whether it be a new shirt, or time with her mother. Even once she was in remission, she would take the nurse out to lunch once every few weeks. The nurse, Betsy died last year. Hannah and her family attended the wake and the funeral as did many other patients who were helped by Betsy. The turnout were twenty patients and their families.
When Hannah was sick, she would take pictures of everyone and everything. She later used her allowance to buy the best cameras she could. Her bedroom is plastered with pictures she took of her loved ones. She took photography classes and she decided to be a professional photographer. She was accepted to college but then she got sick again and had to withdraw to her great disappointment. Once shes well again, she plans to go to college.
Once she was better, she discovered she had a good voice and her mother encouraged her to do voice lessons but she preferred skating. She took skating lessons and loved it. She had no talent but was passionate about it. She loved to skate and pretend she was flying far away from the doctors and needles and hospital gowns and medicine. She was shopping with her mother when she suddenly became very weak. They returned home and she laid down. But no matter how much she rested, she was always tired. She was going to call her doctor when she found out about her monthly test results. Her cancer had come back.
While she was sick the first time, she would get visits from pets. She discovered she adored dogs. When she was well enough, she would push them in wheelchairs. As she grew up, she became the towns dog walker, and she loved it. It didn't tire her out too much and she got time with dogs and she got paid for it. It was good times for everyone.
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