Harmony Bland has been through a lot in 22 years.

After several strokes as a baby, she’s had more than 60 brain surgeries and survived a near-fatal infection in 2015.

During tough times, one of the people she’s counted on for the last 15 years is Jeremy Birkhimer — who Harmony considers her dad.

He’s been battling cancer for the last year and since then, Harmony has been determined to be there for him, said her mother, Rachael Birkhimer, who is Jeremy’s wife.

She’s stepped up around the house, helping with cooking and cleaning. And she’s also committed to making another kind of change.

“I want my last name to be Birkhimer, like my mom and dad, so there will be three Birkhimers in this house,” she said.

Harmony first tried to change her last name at age 18, after graduating from Licking Valley High School.

But her “competence” was questioned by the courts because of her ability to read and write. That experience was devastating and hurtful, Rachael said.

“She may not be able to read and write (in the traditional way) but she knows what she wants, her mind is right,” she said.

But it sparked motivation in Harmony that only increased when Jeremy received his diagnosis.

Harmony receives Shared Living services from her mother at home and attends an adult day service (ADS)  at Center for Disability Services (CDS) several days a week.

She made it clear that her goal — both at home and at ADS— was going to be improving her reading and writing skills.

“She’s really working hard, she wants this bad,” Racheal said.

Staff members at CDS — including April Sunkle, Jason Richards and Simone Phillis — stepped up to help her practice by helping her with worksheets and printing out copies of the name change paperwork, so she can practice filling them out.

Simone has also been her confidant when she’s been having a hard day or is worried about her dad, Rachael said.

It was clear that her hard work was paying off when — several months ago — Harmony received a card from her grandmother and read the entire thing out loud.

“For her to open a card and just start reading it from start to end without asking for help, was amazing,” Rachael said.

Harmony has filled pages and pages, practicing writing her current name as well as “Harmony Birkhimer.” When they are financially able to go through the process, she will be ready, Rachael said.

Rachael said she’s thankful to CDS for supporting Harmony in achieving a goal that is so important to her. But both she and Jeremy are extremely impressed by Harmony’s hard work and dedication.

“We are all really proud, she’s come such a long way,” she said.