Gracie Wallis ‘’isn’t supposed to be here’’.
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Doctors didn’t give her much hope when she was born with a hypoxic brain injury and cerebral palsy.
But 12 years later she is flourishing.
On Thursday she graduated from Para Meadows School and 55 of Gracie’s closest friends and family were in attendance to celebrate her achievement.
Susan Wallis decided to go all out for her daughter and threw the Dux of the school a high tea celebration at the Sage Hotel in Wollongong.
‘’Gracie is the only child in year 6 at Para Meadows this year so she is getting to graduate solo. It was too good an opportunity to not celebrate this,’’ Mrs Wallis said.
‘’Gracie actually had a traumatic start to life and she wasn’t expected to get out of hospital at all so getting her to her year 6 graduation is even more amazing then another child.
She’s not a burden. She’s amazing just being here, just the way she is.
- Susan Wallis
‘’I’m very much celebrating about what Gracie can do, not what she can't.
‘’She’s not a burden. She’s amazing just being here, just the way she is. We think she is perfect, even if the rest of the world doesn’t.’’
It seems that at least 50 people agree that Gracie is indeed perfect, and showed how special she was by showing up to celebrate at the Woonona youngster’s graduation party.
Among the party guests were the midwives who saved Gracie’s life and the occupational therapists and physiotherapists who have also played a ‘’huge role’’ in getting her better.
‘’All the people who have been in her life and got her to this point are here,’’ Mrs Wallis said.
‘’It is about celebrating everybody’s contribution and acknowledging and saying thank you as much as it is about celebrating Gracie.’’
The celebration has come at a good time for the family, as Gracie was hospitalised last week.
‘’She's out of hospital and she's kind of okay, so we are making the biggest fuss ever,’’ Mrs Wallis said.
Sophie Wallis, 10 led the celebrations on Thursday by singing a song to her big sister Gracie.
Amy Diaz, a local artist with Down Syndrome also joined in by sign singing.
The Blue Rose project, a collaboration between Beyond Empathy and Merrigong Theatre Company, exploring the experience of those who use non-verbal communication as their way to interact with the world, were also on hand to film Gracie’s graduation party.
Read more: Blue Rose film installation blossoms at IPAC
‘’I’m just overwhelmed that people love her as much as we do. I’m ecstatic that there are 51 other people here that want to celebrate her graduation,’’ Mrs Wallis said.