Look Who it Was Random video

Taylin McGill

3,478 views · Published 2 May 2013 · 3:17 · Indexed 12 November 2026

Channel: BC Children's Hospital Foundation · 2013 · Nonprofits & Activism

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When Erin and Sean McGill reflect on the love that their daughter Taylin has added to their lives, they recall the wisdom of the late Maya Angelou. 

The famous poet said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” 

Though she will struggles with the effects of bacterial meningitis – and the resulting brain and physical impairments– all her life, Taylin manages to bring people together with her charm and genial nature; as her mom Erin says, “Taylin’s such a happy kid…she just wakes up happy.” 

That’s a great feat, considering all that Taylin has gone through in her 13 years.  

Those close to her bear witness to her strength and resilience every day: Taylin has managed, time and again, to perform, think, feel and enhance the lives of others in a way that suggests she lives an inner and outer life far beyond the confines of her serious health challenges.

Taylin was diagnosed with salmonella bacterial meningitis just 10 days after her birth in 2002. From the infection, Taylin contracted ventriculitis, inflamed ventricles in the brain; she was also diagnosed with hydrocephalus, an accumulation of fluid in the brain. 

These early infections caused blockages to the movement of cerebral spinal fluid in her brain, demanding that surgeons install insert her first shunt at just three months old to allow the fluid to communicate to move with all of the areas of Taylin's brain.

Taylin had her first 70 minute seizure when she was just three years old in Whistler and was airlifted to Children's Hospital.  Diagnosed with status epilepsy, Taylin continued to have seizures that endured from five to 90 minutes, every three months between the years 2005 and 2009.

By the end of 2009 she had endured her 14th brain surgery. The McGills had grown to appreciate and adapt to Taylin’s abilities, cherish her sunny attitude, and are committed to helping her grow and develop every day.

On November 11, 2014 Taylin, her proud and protective big sister Kheya, Erin and Sean and all of her grandparents celebrated two years without a seizure over two minutes -- a major milestone.   

Indeed, the young girl is definitely not who she is on paper, Erin says. 

The effects of meningitis have placed her in the first percentile of IQ; Taylin’s working memory is in the 0.04th percentile on the scale for kids her age. Now, 13 years old, Taylin sings in a choir and participates in gymnastics and yoga. In warm weather she swims every day in her backyard pool and plays softball with a Special Olympic team.

Says Erin: “We take for granted how much she can do…we treat her like anyone else in the family and we have to remind ourselves just how far she’s come.”

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