[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         HONORING MAGGIE MAINE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARK SANFORD

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 30, 2018

  Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Maggie Maine of 
Bluffton, South Carolina. It is my privilege to recognize her and all 
that she has overcome and accomplished in just seven short years. On 
Saturday, February 3rd, 2018, the American Heart Association's Southern 
Coast Heart Ball will celebrate Maggie's life and the odds she has 
defied.
  Albert Einstein once said that ``there are only two ways to live your 
life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though 
everything is a miracle.'' Maggie lives every day as if it is a miracle 
and, in so doing, inspires all who know her to ask the larger question 
of how they might make the most of the miracle we have all been granted 
in life.
  Before ever taking a breath, Maggie was diagnosed with Dandy-Walker 
Syndrome when Renae, her mother, was just 26 weeks pregnant. Since 
then, Maggie has defied the odds and shown true grit She lives with 
multiple congenital heart defects, a malformation of the cerebellum, 
and is completely dependent on a pacemaker that was installed when she 
was just an infant
  What these things mean is that her ability to see, walk, jump, and 
dance are things the doctors told her parents she would never be 
capable of doing. Yet, she does. Maggie is indeed a miracle kid.
  Even at such a young age, she is an inspiration to those around her. 
As said best by her parents, she is always smiling, even on the worst 
of days. With that, I would again ask that you join me in honoring 
Maggie Maine on this momentous occasion for the life she is living, her 
strength and calm, and for the way she stands as an inspiration that 
should make all of us smile.

                          ____________________