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Canton, GA (WGCL) — Every Thanksgiving holiday is extra special for a Canton girl battling health issues.
Twelve-year-old Meg Cochran has good days and bad days. She was a tiny baby when she started having health problems.
“Meg was diagnosed at a year and a half with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy,” said Stacy Cochran, Meg’s mother.
It’s a condition that affects all of her body systems, making it tough to fight off even a simple cold. Through the years, Meg has spent a lot of time in hospitals. But her parents will tell you, there’s something about her spirit that just keeps fighting.
“She wasn’t supposed to see her teenage years, and we’re getting ready to celebrate her 13th birthday at the end of February,” her father Jimmy told CBS46 News.
For her older brothers, Meg’s condition has taught them some valuable lessons.
“It’s really taught me to be thankful for everything you’ve got, because that’s what — she’s thankful for everything. She takes everything,” says her brother, also named Jimmy.
“If I’ve had a bad day at some point, I’ll think of what Meg went through, and I’m just like, ‘It wasn’t so bad,’ said Meg’s other brother, Ian-Thomas.
It’s a condition Meg has lived with her whole life and will continue to live with.
What do you tell your family about the future,” asked CBS46’s Rebekka Schramm.
“Well, I tell them not to worry because it makes me sad when they’re sad,” said Meg.
“It seems like your family really gets the meaning of Thanksgiving. Do you agree?” asked Schramm.
“What we do is we’re thankful just the time to have family together and for God to give us this time,” said Meg.
“For us, it’s our yearly reminder that we’re thankful every day,” says father Jimmy.
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