My two oldest granddaughters both graduated from eighth-grade on the same day last June.

Growing up, Rashea and Veratisha were like sisters. They'd go everywhere together and were the closest of cousins until this year. It just seemed like a wall had sprung up between them. They both had their own best friends. They were not even going to the same party after the graduation ceremony. Both girls are honor roll students. Shea was her class salutatorian and is very outspoken. Tisha is also very outspoken and very sentimental. She feels that leaving eighth-grade has closed a chapter in life because most of her peers will be going to different schools this fall. It's nice, however, that my granddaughters are now attending the same high school. Two years ago, Tisha was hit by a van while riding a scooter. She was 11 years old and was flown by Life Star helicopter from St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport to Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital in critical condition. She was in a coma and on life support with serious head injury, but she came out of the coma with the help of her cousin, Shea.

Shea, who was 12 at the time, continued to talk her and play their favorite music everyday. I don't think I will ever forget the day Shea asked Tisha, "If you can hear the music and like the music, raise your hand." To our surprise, Tisha raised her hand. Although it was still weeks before she actually came out of the coma, she was able to communicate. While still in the coma, a nurse

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gave her a pen and pad and she began writing all sorts of questions and demands. She told her family not to leave her because she was alive. It was just amazing to the doctors and nurses and my family. But, I can just first thank our Creator for the brain he has created that so unique. After rehab, Tisha was able to resume school and continued as an honor student. She received an award from WICC and was interviewed on the radio because she had one of the highest averages in math in the Bridgeport schools last year. The support from family, friends, and Thomas Hooker School was amazing. Every class in the school sent Tisha a card; she had more cards then a Hallmark store.

Tisha has no memory of the accident and says she lost three months of her life that year. Our reward was seeing her receive her diploma as an honor student. That evening of graduation, instead of my granddaughters going to parties, my husband and I took them to Jimmie's in West Haven. After we walked the beach, I took pictures of my beautiful granddaughters together and that was important. They were together, just like old times. Marva Hamilton is the librarian at the Connecticut Post and writes on the first Monday of the month. She can be reached at mhamilton@ctpost.com.