After that night, she took a break from some things but returned to competitive gymnastics after a month, and won the state championship for her age and level that year. She moved houses, made new friends, had plenty of girl drama, changed schools, and all the while got involved with pancreatic cancer awareness and research.
In the midst of all the change in her own life, she managed to continue to honor her dad.
And in my mind, that makes her a true warrior.
The things she has endured and the way she has survived is the true mark of all the things chad was, strong, courageous and full of hope.
So when Kaitlyn and her sister decided to get a tattoo to respect the battle and to honor their hero that fell, there was no way I was standing in the way of that. Not for one second.
As for me, the day before he died, I asked for a copy of his EKG. I have his real heartbeat tattooed on my foot so every time I look down I know he’s with me. It’s part of him that is still alive.
One of my favorite things was laying on his chest listening to his heartbeat, and now I can still see it anytime I want. And my kids can look at theirs and be reminded that they can survive anything.
So yes, I let my fifteen year old get a tattoo and no, I don’t care what anybody has to say about it, because they have shown me, you, and anybody else who will listen to what surviving looks like. They get to show that off however they [darn] well want to. They’ve earned it.
**This post was written by Diana Register and originally appeared on her Facebook page. See more from her on Facebook.
