"An Ordinary Day, With An Extraordinary Friend" Written By: Stephanie Alexandre

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Awareness Week: Remembering Alysha’s Journey with CHD

“AN ORDINARY DAY, WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY FRIEND”

Written by Stephanie Alexandre

Alysha was someone who could always find the fun in everything, and her presence would light up a room. High school could get pretty rough, especially at Carroll where we were always stressed about catching up with our homework! But no matter what, Alysha had so much joy and would find a way to make the best of it.

I remember one lunch time we had together, where we bonded over our favourite country singers, and one of them was Hunter Hayes. Suddenly, she grabbed some tape and we made a little 3-D stick man who we called “Pocket Hayes” and would take turns bringing him with us as a good luck charm for tests or study nights. One day she showed up with a little vest she made for him, and I couldn’t believe how much joy that little stick man brought to our school hours. Of course, one of the boys had to destroy Mr. Pocket Hayes, but that couldn’t ruin her fun.

I remember how a few of us in our friend group had to work on a video project for English, which was an assignment Alysha had already finished. But she decided to help us out anyways as our “director and motivational support,” and organized the day with snacks and games to the point where she turned the project into a party.

I learned so much from this girl, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have a friend who could turn ordinary days into some of my favourite memories.

Love, Stephanie

"A Heart & A Hat" Written By: Chris Leptich

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Awareness Week: Remembering Alysha’s Journey with CHD

“A Heart & A Hat”

Written by Chris Leptich

Meeting Alysha for the first time is one of my fondest memories. Knowing that she was a Riders fan, and me being a Stamps fan, I decided to wear a Stamps hat to evoke a reaction from her. In true Alysha fashion the first words out of her mouth when she saw my hat were “that is a stupid hat!” Those words were the start of a wonderful relationship.

From attending Flames games to touring Boston with her sisters, Alysha always made our adventures more interesting. Her wit and humor would always brighten up our conversations. She had this uncanny ability to interject the perfect comment at the perfect time, which most often led to uncontrollable laughter for those in the room.

Looking at this picture of us in Boston always brings a smile to my face. Alysha’s smile and iconic peace sign will forever be etched in my heart.

Love, Chris

"A Weighted Heart" Written By: Jody Bencharski

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Awareness Week: Remembering Alysha’s Journey with CHD

“A WEIGHTED HEART”

Written by Jody Bencharski

There is no shortage of positive things to say about Alysha. I want to express my thanks to the Oliphant family for allowing me to spend so much time with her.

The age gap between us was significant but I can easily say that she was one of my friends. I looked out for her and she looked out for me. I will miss her constant text messages to remind me to do all sorts of stuff, we used to laugh and refer to her as Kelsi and I’s secretary. Having a workout session with Alysha was always something that I looked forward to. She always had so much to tell me about Kelsi, sports, her parents, our “UP” band stats, school, weekend plans etc. We would often take over the personal training studio to blast country music while she worked out.

At our last Heartbeats event I had the opportunity to push Alysha in her wheel chair for the 5KM (picture below) and I was so honored to do so. This picture is a significant one because it was the last time that we were together. We had to stop once to drain her lung fluid bag. I didn’t fully grasp the severity of her condition at the time because she was so talkative and bubbly, like usual.

Before the run we made sure she had a GoodEarth hot chocolate in her hand (she informed me that they are WAYYYY better than the ones from Starbucks), she laughed at our participation in the warmup, then once we were on the trail she facetimed her favorite person in the world, Kelsi, and called her Dad. She loved her family so much! Never had anything negative to say about them. We talked all about her plans for school and how she had so many gift certificates to spend. The following month when I found out about her passing truly rocked me.

My deepest sympathies go out to all who feel the loss of this wonderful Angel. I believe that she is running around, care-free in Heaven, feeling an abundance of love from each of us, a tennis racket in her hand, country music blasting, with Subway sandwiches and hot chocolate awaiting her game breaks.

Alysha will always have a place in my heart. The world is really missing out!

Love, Jody

"How Do You Like Them Apples?" Written By: Darrell Elsbett

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Awareness Week: Remembering Alysha’s Journey with CHD

“HOW do you like THEM APPLES?”

Written by Darrell Elsbett (Armpit)

Well, where do I start!

I have so many stories about Alysha. I met Alysha when she was about 8 or 9 years old. Todd and I started working together and he would invite me over to the house once in a while. So by doing this I got to meet the family and even though both Kelsi and Alysha were a little shy, it did not take long for Alysha to figure out who I was.

When Alysha got a bit older she was already coming back at me with the one liners. That kid was so smart and witty, I will never forget that. I was always giving the girls a hard time, and Alysha was never afraid to give it right back to me. I love this picture, because this is the look she would always give me when I did something dumb, or I said something she didn't agree with. I know I made a smart remark about the Riders just before I took this picture (see below). I would tell a story to her and she would just give me that ALYSHA look. We all know what that was like.

Alysha had so much attitude and wasn't afraid to show it. I always thought of Alysha as my niece. I always loved going over to the Oliphant house to hang with Todd and Jeannine but also to see the girls. I remember the one time Todd took me to the Winter Club and Alysha was working at the pro shop. Well she took her job very seriously. I asked for some help on some shoes. Well she took me over and showed me all the shoes, explained in great details and the benefits of each. Obviously she was listening to her Dad about how to do sales. It was always great when I would phone Todd and he would have the kids in the car with him, probably going to tennis or some sports event, well I would be on speaker phone and then I would spend more time talking to the girls than I would with Todd. Man I miss those days.

I will never forget that ALYSHA LOOK. I feel very fortunate that I was able to get to know Alysha, I always looked forward to seeing her and I miss her very much.

For such a young person she had a huge impact on my life, and I look forward to the Heartbeats Run every year. I know how much that day means to Alysha, and will never miss that.

The first year I attended the run, I trained very hard and was going to do the 10k. I showed up and of course ran into the Oliphant gang before the race, so of course I had to give Alysha a hard time and of course I told her I was going to win the race. We started a bit before they did and I started my run, the whole time all I am thinking is I have to beat Alysha to the finish. She was walking the 5K and I was determined to beat her. So I turn the corner. I know I am close to the finish so I am giving all I have left. I pass the finish line, as I slow down I see Todd and Alysha already there. I must have looked bad, because Todd asked me if I was okay? I looked at Alysha thinking she would tell me how well I did and she would see how hard I worked to try to beat her but nope, this is what I heard, " WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG" than she followed that up with "HOW DO YOU LIKE THOSE APPLES" Man I miss that attitude!

I remember the one year, Alysha wasn't feeling very good but was still determined to be at the Heartbeats Run. So She came in a wheelchair and Jodi was pushing her. I remember going up to Alysha and I told her I was going to kick her but on the run that day. Well she looked at me with that look and just said GOOD LUCK! This girl was not a quitter.

And Alysha "You like Apples? How do you like them Apples"

Love, Armpit