Beyond Expectations

"For seven years, Sydney Collier enjoyed the life of a happy, active child, with caring parents and siblings. She remembers running through sprinklers and playing with neighborhood friends. And she fell in love with four-legged animals-especially horses. Her mom encouraged her to ride, and Sydney was good at it, finding herself at home in the saddle. Then a routine eye exam changed everything. Sydney had the incredibly rare Wyburn-Mason Syndrome, a congenital birth defect that causes arteriovenous malformations where the veins in the arteries don't separate as they should from the capillaries as they would in a healthy brain. The resulting "clumps" of veins and arteries have increased blood flow and a high risk of aneurysm, and they tend to affect the brain, eye, and facial structures. Less than 100 cases have been reported, according to the National Institute of Health, and the treatment remains controversial and prognosis uncertain. Most diagnoses in infants were confirmed by pathologists after death. Wyburn-Mason began to take an immediate toll on Sydney's body, first with its effect on her vision, and soon severe physical debilitation and excruciating migraines. As she and her family tried treatment after treatment, the only place where Sydney could escape the almost-constant pain for just a little while was on the back of a horse. A trip with her mother to the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, where Sydney had a chance to watch the sport of Para Dressage, would help turn what seemed an overwhelming tide of loss and suffering. A new goal was born: to become a competitor in the Paralympics, and to do it in partnership with the only thing that brought her peace and happiness-horses. This is the story of a brave young woman's journey from the doctors' offices to medal podiums, in her words. Anyone looking for a reason to believe that dreams can be realized, regardless of the odds, will find inspiration in these pages"--