Riley Eberhart is 13 years old in Level 7. On July 10th, 2010 Riley was racing barrels on her horse when she fell and fractured her back. She was in a brace for 8 weeks. While in the brace she still came to practice and to camp, sometimes only to help the coaches because there was so little she could do in the gym. She always had a smile and encouragement for her teammates.

In October she returned to her training for Level 7, and her hard work and dedication were paying off. On December 24th, 2010 her world was changed forever as her best friend, Brandi, 15 years old, died with no warning. Riley came to the gym every practice with a smile for her team mates as if nothing had changed. She put her emotions last so as not to hurt anyones feelings. She missed only one practice; the day of the funeral.

She is one of the strongest young lady's I know. As her mother and her coach I have seen both sides, and when she walks in the gym all the bad and the heart break seem to disappear. The love of the sport and the bond with her teammates has made some very hard times much more bearable.

I started gymnastics when I was 2 ½ years old, in a mom and tot class. My parents thought it would be good for me since I had a lot of energy. That was probably the best choice they could have made.

On my 11th birthday in January 2004, I was diagnosed with Germinoma, a type of brain cancer. The doctors found two tumors inside my brain just in front of my pituitary gland. The tumors created pressure on my brain that resulted in a massive headache, numbness of my tongue and left hand and being lethargic. I was admitted into the hospital and two days later I had surgery on my brain to biopsy the tumors. I was discharged from the hospital within a week.

Throughout the next few weeks, I went through other surgeries and treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation. During this whole process I only missed seven days of school and went to gymnastics just about every day. I would go for radiation in the morning, then to school and then my mom would pick me up and ask me how I felt. She would say "do you just want to go home or do you want to go to gymnastics?" I always said I wanted to go to gymnastics. For the next month I could only do dance through and stretching, no tumbling. As a side effect of chemotherapy, I lost all of my hair. Everybody stood right by my side and a few of my coaches even shaved their heads.

I was unable to compete in the 2004 season; however, by November 2004 I was back in the gym doing everything. Being only eleven years old and having to fight cancer definitely changed my life and I think the lives of those around me.

Gymnastics has always been a big part of my life. While fighting cancer, gymnastics kept me positive. I got so much support from my family, friends, coaches and teammates. Going to gymnastics greatly helped me keep my mind and body strong through everything. Gymnastics had taught me to never give up, to face my fears and to have hope.

Having good teammates is not something to take for granted. I have found that coaches are not just there to coach you but to be your supporter. Without gymnastics in my life, fighting cancer would have been extremely difficult. To everyone that is going through a tough time, in or out of the gym, whether a family issue, a fear, or even an illness, always have hope.

I’m eighteen years old now, have been in remission for 6 ½ years and have committed to attend Kent State University this fall as part of their gymnastics team. Facing cancer certainly changed my life. It taught me the value of family and good friends and reminded me that gymnastics was a very important and positive part of my life.