48 • APRIL 2024
KIDS WHO CARE Sophia Malone Sarah Rein WHEN SOPHIA MALONE’S PARENTS, ROMAN & TONYA, WELCOMED THEIR FIRST CHILD AFTER FIVE YEARS OF MARRIAGE, THEY WERE THRILLED TO ENJOY THEIR NEW ARRIVAL. The months of pregnancy and anticipation were filled with excitement, nerves, and expectations. Then, a few days after birth, Sophia was diagnosed with a hemangioma - a benign blood-filled tumor not uncommon among infants. Often referred to as a “strawberry” birthmark, they are typically minor and shrink or even disappear after a child’s first year. However, Sophia’s hemangioma was compound, meaning it affected both the skin’s surface and extended underneath, affecting her cartilage and bone structure. Unlike the usual pattern of these tumors, hers grew dramatically after her first year and began affecting her vision and nasal structure. Sophia had to have her most extensive operation at the age of eighteen months when the size of the growth began to threaten her eyesight. Over the years, she has had more than twenty surgeries to remove her tumor as well as correct some of the damage done to her underlying facial structures. While it would be easy to be bitter or frustrated at what she has endured, on the contrary, Sophia has embraced her journey. “I remember growing up very comfortable with myself,” Sophia shares. “I’ve always been confident and had an easy time making friends. Starting school did feel a little scary, but I’ve never been insecure about my hemangioma. I’ve always welcomed people talking to me about it.” Tonya admits that she initially was challenged by Sophia’s diagnosis. She felt worried about all the things she might not get to do or how her life might be harder. What she did not expect was what a gift Sophia’s journey would be to those around her. After an excellent elementary experience at First Presbyterian Day School, Sophia transitioned to Jackson Prep where she has excelled personally and socially. Sophia danced for years before transitioning to Prep’s award-winning Réveillon Show Choir. “They have really become like a family,” Sophia relates. “I’ve learned and grown so much in that program.” She has also served as a student ambassador and in Prep’s Service Club. One of her most colorful memories during high school was getting to be part of the Prep sailing team that won the Mississippi Sailing Championship her tenth-grade year. Since the age of thirteen, she has worked in her father’s family’s roofing business and, later, her aunt’s clothing boutique. Sophia explains that there has always been an expectation in her family that the kids would work. “Yes, we learned something about the business, but it was mainly to teach us responsibility and discipline. We have been encouraged to be people who give back.” Church membership has always been important in her family, and Sophia has also become involved in the Young Life organization where she has made close friends and been involved in weekly Bible studies. Last summer, she had the opportunity to work as a Young Life Capernaum Buddy, where the camps are created with teens and young adults with disabilities in mind. “I think, because I don’t look like the average person who has it all together, people find me more approachable. So, I’m able to use my birth defect as a blessing.” When asked how she feels she has grown from her struggles, Sophia expresses that, while her hemangioma has been a big part of her story, God has taught her that it doesn’t define her. Tonya agrees, “God has opened doors through this that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. I mean, even kids who have no disabilities feel insecure about themselves, and because Sophia accepts herself just like she is, she shines a light when she goes places.” Sophia recently found out that her next opportunity to do that will be at Samford, where she has been accepted into their nursing program. She is following in her mother’s footsteps (Tonya is a long-time surgical nurse) as well as honoring all the nurses who have made an impact on her during her health journey. As Sophia considers the blessings that have come from her trials, she thinks about the people who have been the biggest influence on her. She is quick to mention her mother, who is her biggest cheerleader. Her mentor, Amanda Slack from Prep, also comes to mind. She poured into Sophia through Bible study and their relationship for years. She particularly recalls a nurse anesthetist she had in Arkansas who brought Sophia stuffed animals from her travels. The woman would line them up around Sophia as she woke from her surgeries, so she felt immediately surrounded and loved. Reflecting on her future plans, Sophia wonders aloud if she may also want to pursue pediatric nursing and, perhaps, work with children with disabilities. After all the challenges Sophia has faced, she believes in God’s ability to use them for His glory and her good. As Romans 5:3-4 reminds the Christian - “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Sophia has faced her suffering with joy and hope and is confident in the God who holds her future and looks forward to continuing to be a light to others. Hometown RANKIN • 49