Here’s the way it happened….. The night was muggy. The stadium was huge. We got there early enough to watch warm ups. Jessie looked good in the net but so did the German goalie.

Both American basketball teams were playing gold medal matches when the game began so it took a little while for the American section of the stands to fill up. Still, when the girls marched onto the field and stood at attention for the national anthem (which, of course, they could not hear), there was a palpable sense of national pride.

Kickoff. The first half was hard fought though the American women forced more play in the German half of the field. I know because I wasn’t nearly as tense as I would have been if Jessie had been under attack. She had one dramatic save early in the game and the camera man zeroed in on her. We could see her larger than life on the screen at the end of the field and she looked very intent. By the end of the first half, we were soaked in sweat from sitting in the stands so I can only imagine how the girls felt.

Both teams came out with renewed energy at the beginning of the second half. Then Liza sent a ball past the goalie for our first score. Kate, the youngest member of the team, followed with a perfect little arch kick that want over the goalie’s head. Felicia nailed down the win with two more goals.

Now, it was just a question of whether Jessie would get her shut-out. Most of the German kicks were easily handled, but there was one heart-stopping moment when she dove for a ball in the middle of a flurry of feet. After that, I felt as thought she’d truly done her part to earn the gold medal.

When the game finally ended, one of the defenders raced back and jumped into Jessie’s arms. The girls did a victory run with the American flag and then disappeared smiling and maybe even crying into the locker room. The parents gathered into a sweaty knot unable to fully express their feelings of relief and elation and pride.

The Taiwanese prepared the field for the medal ceremony. Flocks of young people in yellow shirts dragged away the shelters for the players and set up stands for first, second and third place. There were pots of pink roses and women in long gold dresses who carried trays with the medals.

Finally, the teams from Russia, Germany and the US emerged from the tunnel. They lined up at the side of the field and then filed into position. The US team had to lift Kelly onto the podium because she’d injured her leg in the last few minutes of play. With the crowd cheering both deaf and hearing style, an official came to each girl and place a medal around her neck. When all the medals were distributed, the Star Spangled Banner rang out. This time, they played the full version all the way to “home of the brave“, and brave did seem like a fitting description for all of the young women on the platforms.

After that, there was nothing left to do except take pictures--many, many pictures. The Taiwanese have supported the Deaflympic teams all along and they wanted pictures with the players. When the bus got back to the hotel, the police who escorted it wanted to be in the pictures too.

Nobody had wanted to plan for a post-game celebration before the game. It seemed somehow inauspicious. So there was a lot of happy confusion in figuring out what to do. In the end, the men’s team treated the girls to drinks at a local restaurant and then the girls under 21 came back to the hotel for donuts and the women over 21 went out for beer. In all the hubbub, I did get a huge hug from Jessie. I also got to see the medal which is a large, heavy piece of hardware.

Later in the evening, I got to thank the coaches who turned my gratitude into a compliment for Jessie. These truly are remarkable people who got the best out of a group of women who didn’t really come together as a team until earlier this year. These girls are so different even in the way they approach their deafness, but all of them are now champions. Even without the gold, they have lasting relationships with their coaches and their teammates. With the gold, they become part of an elite sorority.

At the end of the evening, I said to one of the Mom’s that this is not at all what I expected when I learned I had a deaf daughter 21 years ago. If nothing else, this visit to Taiwan has been a reminder that we should never presume to know what life has in store for us. Jessie may have been born deaf but she and her teammates were also born with a don’t-give-up determination that led them to this moment. I feel truly fortunate to be witness to what they have achieved. I can’t wait to see what they will do in the future.