SAT . SHE MAY BE TINY, BUT SHE LIVES LOUDLY”: THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF NOLA, A LITTLE GIRL WITH A GIANT HEART
“She may be tiny, but Nola lives loudly.
She loves Disney princesses, asks a million curious questions, and moves through the world with an endless, clumsy joy that makes everyone around her smile. If you met her today, you would never guess how much she has already endured.
Nola was born at just 24 weeks old—far too early, and heartbreakingly fragile. From the very beginning, her life became a fight for survival. She lost most of her small intestine and now depends on a G-tube and a central line to stay nourished. She does not eat by mouth, and medical equipment has become part of her everyday life.
Nola also lives with cerebral palsy, affecting her legs and making leg braces a certainty in her future. While many children grow up thinking about playgrounds and playdates, Nola’s childhood includes frequent trips to Atlanta for specialized medical care, sometimes as often as once a month. Hospitals, long drives, and treatments have shaped a childhood no child ever chooses.
And yet—Nola is happy. Truly happy.
Her mother, Payton Johnson, says that hospital visits and medical devices have never dimmed Nola’s spirit. She laughs, she explores, she radiates joy in a way that feels almost defiant. Nola lives fully in the moment, reminding everyone around her that happiness can exist even in the hardest circumstances.
But behind that joy lies a very real and heavy reality.
Caring for Nola requires constant coordination—medical supplies, specialized equipment, and long-distance travel for appointments. The family is now facing a practical but urgent need: a larger vehicle that can safely transport Nola and everything she depends on.
This is not about luxury.
It’s about access, safety, and dignity.
It’s about keeping up with the needs of a growing child who has already fought more battles than most people will face in a lifetime.
To many, a vehicle is just transportation.
To Nola’s family, it is a lifeline—one that allows her to reach the care she needs and continue the journey she never asked for but bravely embraces every day.
Known lovingly as “Tiny Rock Star,” Nola is living proof that joy can coexist with hardship—and that sometimes, the strongest hearts come in the smallest bodies 🩷
