Pig Bowl

Update as of September 1st 2020:

Angela is doing very well. She has been seizure free for more than a year now. She had hip surgery 8 months ago and has fully recovered. Being outdoors, listening to music and spending time with her family are some of the things she enjoys. After our family was selected to participate in the Pig-bowl Angela was able to get her stair lift and fix her van which had been donated to her.

We will always be grateful to everyone who participated in the Pig-Bowl.

Thank you for everything and God bless!

Update as of September 2023

Angela is now 11 years old. Last year she started attending school again. When COVID hit she was doing home services because we were worried about her being exposed to the virus. 

She really enjoys being around other students and riding the school bus. Some of the therapies she is provided with are physical, occupational, visual and speech. 

She was seizure free for about 3 years but recently she’s been getting them on and off. Her doctor thinks that her going through puberty is what’s triggering them.

Now that Angela is older she is able to focus and pay attention to people and things around her. 

She has her favorite people, grandma, grandpa( my mom got married 3 years ago), her cousin Lizzy and myself of course, lol.

She gets really excited when she sees us and she expresses that with lots of smiles and yelling. 

She loves music and toys that light up. 

My daughter is the happiest little girl I know even when she’s not feeling well and she has taught me to be patient, to be grateful and to not take anything for granted. 

We will always be thankful to everyone involved in the Pig Bowl fundraiser. We were going through a difficult time and your help was really a blessing. 

Update as of October 2023

Today, we gather here to remember and honor the life of a remarkable young girl, Angela Heredia, who graced our lives with her presence for 11 years. Angie was born on May 31st of 2012 to Angelina Heredia and to Alex Zapian. After being born through an emergency cesarean doctors knew right away that something was wrong. Only 3 days into her fragile life, Angie began seizing.

Angela was later diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation which caused her and her mom a lot of challenges and physical limitations. At only two months old Angie faced more challenges in her short life than most of us. I mean can you imagine, at only 2 months old, having to endure 500 seizures a day and having to fight for your life on a day to day basis.

Her journey was not an easy one and while her journey had its challenges the presence of Angelina’s love provided comfort and strength. Throughout their shared challenges, Angelina remained faithfully by Angie’s side, never wavering, even in moments of exhaustion and weariness. Angelina became her daughter’s pillar of strength, her rock, her guardian angel, just as Angie did the same for Angelina.
Throughout her physical challenges, Angie taught us the true meaning of resilience, courage, and love. Angie was a source of inspiration to us all. She displayed an unwavering strength in the face of adversity, reminding us that true character is defined not by the obstacles we face but by how we choose to confront them. Her journey was a testament to her courage and her unyielding spirit.

Angie radiated joy and brought happiness to all who knew her. Her beautiful smile and laughter were a reminder that life’s greatest treasures are often found in the simplest of moments. She had a unique ability to brighten the darkest of days, and her laughter (those giggles) was a melody that brought joy to all who heard them.

Throughout her life, Angie demonstrated an incredible sense of curiosity and wonder about the world around her. Her eyes glittered with a sparkle that was truly contagious. She held a deep affection for books, vibrant objects, and, in particular, anything adorned with vivid, radiant lights and music. Her passion for attending school and her eagerness for learning served as a shining inspiration to each of us.
As we say our goodbyes to Angie we remember the profound impact she had on our lives. She taught us the importance of perseverance and the value of every single moment. Her journey was a reminder to us all that life is a precious gift, and it’s the love, laughter, and the relationships we build along the way that truly matter.

Though Angie has left this world, her memory will continue in our hearts. Every day we will be reminded to embrace each day with gratitude, to find beauty in the face of adversity, and to always cherish the gift of love and family.

Angie may have faced unique challenges, but she also brought unique blessings into our lives. We carry her memory in our hearts and are forever inspired by her enduring spirit and the love she shared. Today we don’t say goodbye but instead we say, we shall see you again sitting on the lap of our heavenly father.

Rest in peace, my dear Angie.

Today I am standing in for Angie’s grandfather Leonardo Heredia as he lost his battle with cancer some 11 years past and is waiting for our Lords return.

Leonardo was living when Angie was born and was given the Gift of holding His Granddaughter in his arms and loving on her. It’s my understanding that though he struggled with the why of her physical difficulties he never struggled with loving her.

I came late into her life Knowing from the beginning that Maria would prioritize Angie in all that we did and I came to enjoy all our time together.

Meeting Angie for the first time my  feelings were that of compassion and sadness but as time progressed I grew to see her as much more than her physical limitations.

When you spent time with her, watched her with Lizy and Isaiah at play or her Mother or Grand mother always talking with her as they adjust her, checking on her comfort, she knew, her eyes would follow them as they moved, and she would light up with that Amazing full bodied Smile, the one most of you have seen. Oh to see her when her Mom got home from work! Or when Angie would come home from being away, She would come alive, she would sing and smile. She also knew when it was time for Phoenix to carry her downstairs, while he did she  fully voiced her pleasure!

She spoke with her eyes and with her body. She spoke eloquently of her love for her Mother and Grandmother.

She spoke loudly with frustration when her TV programs paused or weren’t up to her standards.

She rarely  spoke of her constant companions, pain and her seizures… when she would have one, she had this beautiful way of saying (Like Isaiah would say after a fall) “I’m ok! I’m ok!” With Her crooked, embarrassed smile as the seizure would pass.
In the short time I was graced to know her, I saw her cry only three times, an amazing feat for a young girl living with pain.

As she lived her life, She was all Baby, all little Girl an all young lady and, I believe she would have become every bit a moody teenager.

Possibly not as everyone measures those stages in a young girl’s life but in her “Angela” way, she rocked them.

She is loved dearly and ferociously by those who loved and cared for her, and she’s left a void that can never be filled in this life. But that void will disappear when Christ returns, when we will see her Running, talking and hugging those she’s had to leave behind.

The family has begun the healing process, quiet laughter as they go thru the many pictures of her, misty eyes while sharing remembered times with her.  

They know that the pain of this short separation will be replaced with joyful tears and laughter when we all meet again in heaven.