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A Real-Life Christmas Miracle

HOW BRITTANY RIFFE’S BIRTHDAY PARTY IS A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR ALL OF US

FITSNews - December 23, 2007 - We’ll admit it … in a world that’s full of emotionally-detached cynics, we’re probably among the most detached and cynical (not to mention crass and upapologetic) of them all. But that doesn’t mean that things don’t get to us from time to time, hitting home on a deeply personal, emotional level and forcing us to put all the jokes and zingers aside for a minute to focus on the things in life that are genuinely uplifting.

Such is the story of Brittany Riffe, the Lowcountry high school senior we wrote about earlier this month who was paralyzed in a car crash back in August of this year. We had never met Brittany until tonight, when Sic Willie and the FITS gals piled into the minivan and headed down to North Charleston, S.C. for her eighteenth birthday party.

It was a trip we won’t soon forget.

Over the past six-and-a-half years, our various political perches have provided us with the opportunity to meet two U.S. Presidents, several would-be Presidents, and dozens of other “important” political leaders. We’ve broken big stories, experienced euphoric election wins and seen all manner of amazing, inspiring and historic events. But nothing we’ve ever seen or experienced came even close to the five minutes we spent tonight chatting one-on-one with this heroic young woman, who has single-handedly turned a personal tragedy into a community miracle.

The fact that Brittany Riffe is in the mood for celebrating - let alone conquering - on her eighteenth birthday is simply astounding. Four months ago, she was en route to a mentor training seminar at Stratford High School in Goose Creek when the vehicle she was traveling in flipped over in a single-car accident.

Three friends who were also in the car escaped serious injury, but Brittany - who wasn’t wearing her seat belt at the time - suffered severe spinal cord damage and remains paralyzed from the chest down.

Rather than asking “why me?” or letting bitterness and resentment creep into what most would consider a situation replete with shattered dreams, Brittany has instead taken a “tragedy” and turned it into a triumph, inspiring an entire community with her irrepressible optimism, “beat-the-odds” work ethic and commitment to helping others.

Simply put, if life is about “turning lemons into lemonade,” this girl’s got enough lemonade to fill the Pacific Ocean.

Not only is Brittany tackling the rigors of intense physical therapy with the goal of one day walking again, but she’s also partnering with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office as part of a new campaign to help increase seat belt usage, especially among teenagers.

Perhaps most amazingly, however, she actually says she wouldn’t go back and change what happened to her even if she could.

“I view it completely differently,” Brittany told FITSNews. “Every day now is a gift and an opportunity to help people. I view it as a situation where my family could have very easily been visiting my grave this Christmas, but now I get a chance to tell people my story. If one person listens and if one person’s life is saved because they hear my story and decide to wear their seat belt, it will be worth it.”

Talk about having no regrets.

How on earth does anybody - let alone someone Brittany’s age - have that kind of perspecive so swiftly on the heels of such a profound misfortune? 

“You don’t hear anything like that these days,” said Pastor Greg Surratt of Seacoast Church, one of the many local groups that have joined forces to help Brittany’s family deal with the medical bills and other expenses associated with her injury. “What an incredible outlook on life.”

“Sometimes I sit there and think - how would I have reacted?” says Sherry Riffe, Brittany’s mother. “I don’t think I would have done nearly as well with all of this as she’s done.”

The Riffe’s haven’t been alone in confronting the pernicious new financial reality that has accompanied Brittany’s paralysis - a mountain of treatment and therapy bills which has already surpassed the quarter-million dollar mark.

Charleston County Council Chairman Tim Scott - who organized Brittany’s 18th birthday party as a community fundraiser - has taken the lead on this front, and literally rewritten the definition of the “ideal public servant” with his Herculean efforts on the family’s behalf.

“Tim serves in the finance area at our church,” said Pastor Surratt, whose congregation at Seacoast is one of the largest in the state. ”He called me the other day, asked to take me to lunch and just shared what was on his heart. God had obviously touched him.”

In addition to helping raise $13,000 for the Riffe family, providing emotional support and rallying the local media to Brittany’s cause, Scott has solicited in-kind contributions from dozens of Charleston-area businesses - including a Honda dealership that along with his company is providing the family with a brand new SUV. He even played Santa to Riffe’s siblings and sought out a nearby school teacher whose children will be sending Brittany letters of encouragement in the months to come.

“This is just one day,” Scott told the partygoers tonight. “There’s a long way to go, and I truly believe she will walk again. So let’s not make this about one day. Let’s make this about every day. Let’s keep her lifted up. Let’s keep her encouraged.”

“Tim Scott came out of nowhere,” Sherry Riffe says. “He’s a gift from God.”

Brittany agrees.

“He is an amazing man,” she says. “I never thought he could do everything he did - the money, the car, everything.”

As resounding a success as tonight’s birthday event for Brittany was, her family’s need for financial support remains critical.

As we mentioned in our earlier post, you can help out by writing a check to Seacoast Church or to Brittany’s mother, Sherry Riffe, and mailing it to 1403 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC 29407. All contributions will go directly to the Riffe Family.

We certainly hope you’ll consider helping out a young woman who continues to show all of us the true meaning of the holiday season …

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