Sarah Jenifer Vasilakos

2009 Comeback Kids^® Award Recipient, East Region

Just three weeks after birth, Sarah Jenifer Vasilakos received an ostomy due to a debilitating digestive condition. While she has struggled through the years because of complications from her chronic illness, Sarah is a strong, resilient teenager, resolved to chase her dreams.

Until age 12, Sarah’s digestive problems were manageable and she enjoyed ballet and swimming classes. Then her condition took a turn for the worse – she became dependent on nighttime IV nutrition infusions and her stomach became severely distended. At age 16 she went into septic shock and was hospitalized. This was a pivotal turning point in Sarah’s life, and laying in the hospital bed, she made a pact with herself not to let her condition dictate her life.

She pursued her academics and is now an honor roll student. She also took up figure skating to satisfy a gym credit, fell in love with the sport and now participates in competitive events, with an eye toward nationals one day.

Through it all, Sarah has relied on the support of her family and members from the Ostomy Support Group of Northern Virginia as well as her life-long friends from Youth Rally, a summer camp for youths with an ostomy. She also regularly visits hospitals, sharing her story with other young ostomates.

Today, Sarah, 18, of Annandale, VA, is a high school senior who dreams of becoming a pediatric doctor or nurse practitioner. She offers this advice to people with ostomies, “Falling is not failure as long as you get right back up and show everyone how strong you really are.”