That their diagnosis means the end of all things good and beautiful. “My life isn’t over,” Rebecca told well-wishers between two standing ovations, “and I know that many other children out there think that their life is. About 450 people attended the fundraiser at the Westin Galleria. Bo’s Place is a free-of-charge bereavement center for children and families. Smith is a member of the board of directors of the nonprofit Bo’s Place, which hosted its annual Hearts of Hope luncheon. “Rebecca is equal parts grit and grace,” said Sue Smith, who introduced the honorees. Bush and Barbara Bush who died in 1953 of leukemia at the age of three. They were given the annual Robin Bush Award, which is offered in memory of the daughter of former President George H.W. She’s a ninth-generation Texan and a third-generation Aggie.Īnd there’s more: Rebecca, 19, was honored in Houston Thursday along with her mother, Christyn Taylor ’98, for starting a charity to help children across the nation who suffer from pancreatitis. Her advanced placement work in high school already has earned her nearly half of her undergraduate course credits. She is a first-year engineering student at Texas A&M University, a National Merit Scholar, Presidential Scholar and a Brown Scholar. Now meet the actual teenager: Rebecca Taylor. It is easy to imagine such a teenager turning inward, not finishing high school, feeling hopeless. It can be a struggle just to get out of bed. She needs an oxygen tank at her side and lives in pain day after day. Imagine a teenager who battles life-threatening, debilitating illness for most of her young life, enduring 100 surgeries and 1,200 days in hospitals, missing holidays at home, high-school dances and hanging out with friends. Mike Reilly/Texas A&M University System Marketing & Communications

Grace and Grit by William Murphy