Strong
My cousin Stacey was the strongest person I’ve ever known. She was born with Spina Bifida in the 70s when life expectancy was minimal. She wasn’t expected to live past the age of 5, and when she surpassed that, it was 20. Twenty came and went, and she was still living life to her fullest with a smile on her face.
She had her share of health battles over the years, but still came out on top—always with a smile on her face. Her nickname was “Suzy Sunshine” because she was always smiling and a bright light in everyone’s life she was a part of.
In July of 2022, she got sick, and before she was transferred to Iowa City for what would have been the last time, she wrote on a piece of paper: “Strong is my middle name” to let us know she wasn’t done fighting.
She fought uphill battles, and eventually, in late August of 2022, her body couldn’t fight any longer, and she became our guardian angel.
Josh Kilby and I played around with how to incorporate a sun into this tattoo along with the word “Strong” from Stacey’s note, and created this piece that turned out even better than I had in mind. It’s a piece that reminds me to stay strong when life gets hard, and it’s helped me through a lot over the last few years. It will forever be my favorite tattoo! Thank you, Josh.