Artwork gives Tahliya Griffin wings, goes viral on Facebook

LITTLE Tahliya, 5, can’t walk, speak or support her body on her own. So her mum asked an artist to produce an image to free her daughter. The result is amazing.

BEAMING Tahliyah Griffin has been given the wings she needs to leave the restrictions of her wheelchair and find the beautiful voice her condition prevents her from having.

An artwork encapsulating the five-year-old’s dream to free herself from the confines of her mystery medical condition is going viral on Facebook, warming the hearts of people well beyond her Caroline Springs family.

With her daughter unable to walk, speak or independently support her own body — but with a smile and nature that lights up the room — Tahliyah’s mum Jacqui Griffin contacted photographic digital artist Karen Alsop to see if she could produce an image to free her daughter of her restriction.

Now Tahliyah, Jacqui, dad Kelly and thousands of people online are stunned at the heartwarming results.

“If we could get a photo where Tahliyah would be in a chair, she wouldn’t be in a walker and she wouldn’t be restricted, she could just be like a normal kid,” Jacqui said.

“As a parent it is nice to see your child be free of all of that stuff.

“We love her to bits, but we just wish she didn’t have these challenges and she could enjoy everything like every other kid.

After being asked to help free Tahliyah, artist Karen was desperate to help and even gained the support of Guy Sebastian and his foundation to provide his song, Imagine the Sunrise, for a video showing how the piece was created.

5 Year old Tahliyah is unable to walk, unable to speak, but despite this her smile and joy radiate beyond her...

Posted by Story Art by Karen Alsop on Monday, 7 March 2016

“When Tahliyah saw it she smiled and when we brought it up to her you could tell she loved it,” Karen said.

“I wanted this to be something that we could create together that would create awareness and also bless her family.

“It is who she is inside, her personality, not what her body is.

“I think it brings hope to the family to be able to see Tahliyah free of those restrictions.

“They don’t know what it is that she has got and I would like to think there is a cure out there. This is the hope for that future.”

While it is know that Tahliyah suffers from a mitochondrial disease, the exact nature of her condition has baffled doctors since she was born, despite an international effort to discover what is restricting her body.

The full story behind Karen Alsop’s work can be viewed at storyart.com.au/tahliyahs-story-free-to-fly