GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — 6-year-old Zara is overcoming obstacles and making strides at Mary Free Bed after undergoing a life-changing operation to improve her mobility.
Zara, who faces challenges from cerebral palsy, had an elective surgery more than a month ago. Now, she is pedaling a bike forward with the support of her parents, John and Kaynat Lewis, and her two little sisters.
"You see how much fun she has. You see how much work she's doing," Zara's father, John Lewis said.
The surgery was a tough but worthwhile choice for the family, aimed at giving Zara more independence.
"Those are also the things that pushed us to do the surgery. To try to get her more mobile," John Lewis said.
John explained that watching her struggle to keep up with other children was difficult. They hope this surgery changes that.
"She'll tell me, why aren't the kids playing with me? And stuff like that... and... I just say the kids are just faster than you. The kids want to play with you. But they're kids, they'll just keep moving, and that's how kids work," John Lewis said.
"Watching her go through this process, it's really heartwarming, and it's also heartbreaking. It breaks your heart to watch your child fail at things that other children exceed in," John Lewis said.
The recovery process has presented its own set of challenges for the family.
"Not only did she have a lot of limitations when it came for her to be mobile... when you go through a surgery like this, that made her even less mobile right away," John Lewis said.
"At first you're like, did I make the right decision for my child? And are we going to be able to make it through this?" John Lewis said.
The family has made it through, and they say the challenge has brought them closer together. John Lewis emphasized the importance of patience and support for other families going through similar situations.
"I would say honestly, we have a very close-knit family... and the love and support from each other is the most important. I couldn't imagine her being here without me. I couldn't imagine any children going through this alone," John Lewis said.
"The thing that matters to me most is patience. You have to understand, like we've mentioned— this was an elective surgery. But it wasn't her decision. She might get mad at certain things. She doesn't want to take medicine. She doesn't want the nurse in the room. Yada yada. All that's okay. You just have to be patient with your child," John Lewis said.
Watch video story below: 'Heartbreaking but heartwarming': 6-year-old girl recovering after life-changing mobility surgery
Now, Zara is focused on improvements, like moving her bike all by herself. Her mother, Kaynat Lewis, has high hopes for her daughter's future.
"In the future, I definitely want to see her walking. She's a very confident girl. I want to see her going to any sport she wants. Any field she wants. She can do whatever she wants, as long as she keeps her positivity and attitude going, she will go very far," Kaynat Lewis said.
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