Serenity Jo-Anne Cruz was born on November 5, 2017, at 1:52 am along with her twin sister Sadie Elizabeth. They were born at 26 weeks with Serenity weighing 1lb 14oz and only being 12.4 inches long. Her momma had been on bed rest for weeks in the hospital, but the girls were determined to make their grand appearance extra early and that they did!
They were both immediately sent to the NICU, where they would call home for the next several months. They were so tiny and so fragile that they could not be held or hardly even touched but they were holding their own. Sometime the next morning things changed for Serenity though. At some point that morning she began to struggle, and the physicians had to start CPR. They were able to help her little heartbeat again and she was on a ventilator to help her breathe. But as scary as that morning was, Serenity battled through and showed us early on that she was a warrior.
As the weeks passed by, Serenity continued to strive. Her sister began to struggle and was soon airlifted to another hospital. Serenity stayed in the NICU in our hometown and showed out more & more each week. Finally, after months there, Serenity was able to come home with her Mommy. Her sister would still need a while before she would join her, so Serenity got to soak up all of the baby love for a bit. Not a day went by that we weren’t all so very thankful for seeing her overcome the obstacles before her but most of the time we didn’t even think about that horrible morning the day after she was born. 
However, as Serenity began to grow, we began to notice little things along the way. Serenity always leaned to one side, she always grasped objects with one hand, she always kept one fist clenched and one little leg very rigid. She had doctor’s appointments galore but one morning at one of those appointments the world seemed to stop for a moment as the doctor explained to her mommy & her granna what was going on with little Serenity. He told them that in the morning that she had gone into cardiac arrest and that her little brain had suffered several major strokes. That morning, he told us that Serenity would never walk, that she would never talk very well, that her little brain would never work like our brains do. He showed us multiple pictures of the damage that was left behind due to that horrible morning. We left there that day feeling defeated, crushed, and broken. As the appointments continued Serenity was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and began working with multiple specialists. Today Serenity continues to defy all the odds. She is the brightest light in any room that she ever enters, she gives the biggest smiles and best hugs. She loves playing with her sisters, she loves going to school and going to church. As for her not ever being able to talk, she talks all of our ears off on a daily basis. She’s one of the smartest little girls I know! Serenity has shown us all that a diagnosis does not define who you are, it is just simply a part of who you are! As for Serenity she is amazing in every single way, and she is loved beyond all measure!
With all of Serenity’s therapy visits, her family needed a dependable vehicle that could also accommodate her wheelchair and other equipment.
Gift: Financial assistance towards new vehicle
Location: Floyd County
Given: March 2024