”...success within the person is just as important.”

Ms. Arban,

I have to tell you what a great experience my daughter Abbey had at Winter AMTC 2010. I am so proud of what my daughter accomplished at your competition. When I sat through the awards banquet and listened to all the heartwarming stories of the special circumstances surrounding some of the contestants, I really was proud to be a part of such an encouraging group of people. I also could not wait to write you and let you know what it meant to me as a mother of a special needs child.

My Abbey was born very premature and weighed only 1 pound 10 oz. The year Abbey was born I taught 4-year-olds in Vacation Bible School that summer and I really must have exhausted myself… I had Abbey 2 days later at only 26 weeks gestation. The doctors told us that if she weighed less than 2 pounds, she had a 50/50 chance to survive and if she did survive she would have severe brain problems and have a very rough road ahead of her.

The next 77 days were a whirlwind of emotions with ups and downs coming minute by minute. She was known as the “Bradycardia queen” while she was in the Neonatal ICU, which meant she would stop breathing (apnea) and her heart rate would plummet to almost nothing before the nurses would come running to her bed to stimulate her to breathe. We were so blessed to live close to the hospital where she was so we could visit her every day… There were so many times we would be called in the middle of the night to tell us something else was wrong with her. But through all of this my husband and I kept our faith. We sang Jesus Loves Me to her every day. I know this had to be the closest to God we have ever been. We had to depend on him because we were powerless and this little child that he had blessed us with was really his… She was discharged with a bag full of medications, a heart/apnea monitor, and lots of information about the problems that premature babies experience. We found out over the next few months that Abbey had a large hole in the top part of her heart that would eventually need repairing through open-heart surgery. We prayed diligently for 2 1/2 years for Abbey to be spared and her heart to be healed. The answer was not what we wanted to hear; in July of 1996 Abbey underwent open heart surgery…

One of the other difficulties that Abbey has dealt with is PVL which stands for Periventricular Leukomalacia. This disorder is a very mild type of cerebral palsy. At 18 months we noticed that she was dragging her right foot and that she did not use her right arm very much… She started going to physical and occupational therapy 2 times per week for the next 8 years. She learned to walk, skip, hop, jump and balance on a beam (which is still hard for her to do but she does it!). She learned to write with her left hand despite the fact that she was possibly supposed to be right hand dominant. The neurologist said she would always have trouble with physical activity, but she learned to ride a bike, play hopscotch (with larger-than-life squares) and even took dance and ballet. She played soccer and took piano lessons… The neurologist, cardiologist, surgeons, pediatricians and therapist would look at her and could not believe how great she was doing despite all odds. But we knew who was on her side, so we had no fear that God would heal her in his own time. We have been blessed with such an amazing young lady to help shape her life with God’s love. I am glad I chose life for her because I would not have experienced so much joy getting to see her grow.

We always knew that Abbey had a great imagination. That is what saved her in her lowest times. She could imagine that she was someone else doing something else while the storms blew around. Because of this great ability to place herself outside her circumstances, she made it. God did answer our prayers and look at her now! She is amazing and her smile is infectious. Thanks so much for giving her such a great experience that helped build self-esteem. You hear about the great success stories in the industry but sometimes the success within the person is just as important.

The competitions were fun for her. Her life has been her stage and she has lived a million lives with it. We cannot thank you enough for holding such a great competition… Anthony Reimer from New York Conservatory was delightful. He called Abbey back and gave her such great feedback and compliments. They have asked her to attend the Summer program. This made her feel good about herself. She also got a callback from Christian Kaplan. This was one of the neatest experiences for her. She liked him and was quite honored to get to read the part…

I do believe God’s hand is at work at AMTC because I have seen it first-hand with my child. I am so grateful to Stephanie Duke who saw something in Abbey that was good and gave her this chance. She has done so much for Abbey ‘s self-esteem and encouraged her to get to where she’s going. I know your Mother, Millie Lewis is receiving her crowns in heaven for starting such a beautiful program and I am sure she gets more jewels in it every time AMTC takes place. Thank you for carrying the light of Christ to a dark world and shining it on the youth of tomorrow with such conviction and dedication. Keep up the good work and spreading his word in the Entertainment Industry.

God Bless and Sincere Thanks,
Tammy Waller