The mother of former model Natalia Harris, who passed away last year, was unexpectedly reunited with her daughter's legacy while catching a flight.
"First time flying, since my baby @iamnataliaharris transitioned,” Harris’ mother, Egli Colón Stephens, wrote in an Instagram post at the end of March. “Just when I thought I was not going to see her ad from her @delta campaign, there she was. BOOM! Two posters on the corridor, right before boarding the plane. This “SEE YOU SOON” means more now than ever. I can’t wait to hold her in my arms and never, ever let her go.”
The campaign poster which read, “This Is What See You Soon Looks Like,” in the Delta Airlines skybridge, greeted Stephens once more on her return flight from Florida to New York City.
“Well, Mama E. thought her last post was a wrap, but baby girl @iamnataliaharris had different plans,” she wrote. “Look who was ready to welcome us again, before boarding the plane to come back home, after our long getaway!"
One year ago, on May 6, 2020, Harris passed away from a rare kidney cancer called renal medullary carcinoma, which typically affects young adults. She was 24.
When Harris was 12 years old, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, and struggled with the disease. She was forced to re-learn how to walk, receiving chemotherapy treatments and enduring three reconstructive surgeries on her leg. The model later coined the term “bionic woman” as her alter ego after receiving a titanium prosthetic.
"Yesterday, at 3:49 p.m., in the comfort of the oasis (sweet home), she created for herself, surrounded by our loved ones —in the midst of this pandemic, my Natalia took her last breath and I felt her last heartbeat for the last time," Stephens wrote on Instagram.
Harris was a model who appeared on the cover of Vogue Knitting, Project Runway and participated in New York Fashion Week among countless other campaigns.
The model also co-authored a book with her mother which recounts how the two grappled with her fight against cancer, entitled Unbroken: A Mother-Daughter Journey of Resilience, Faith, and Courage.
"All these signs and the message, 'See you soon,' it brings me peace. It makes me realize we think we are here for so long and in reality it is just a breath," Stephens told Today. "She gives me the strength. I know she is with me through the many signs."
Stephens shared that Delta Airlines sent her a sweet note and a framed photo of the advertisements of Harris, who she referred to as “Nati,” after she told them her story of love and loss.
"I used to tell her, 'Wow, when I grow up I want to be like you. She was so composed, so gentle," Stephens said. "One of the things I recall vividly is a friend of the family said this world needs more Natalias. She was so compassionate.”
“I thought I had stopped being a mom (when I lost my only child), but I realized I am always going to be a mom, I am just mothering in another realm," she added.
As a “Cancer Conqueror,” and self-proclaimed “cancer surThriver,” Harris was passionate about sharing uplifting messages of hope to those battling any form of the disease.
"Our Natalia lived with purpose and intention," a spokesperson for Stephens told Today. "In her own gentle way, Natalia reminds me of Frank Sinatra’s song 'I did it my way.' She lived fully and in her short life shifted and touched so many others. She leaves a strong legacy behind."
Stephens has dedicated her life to preserving her daughter’s legacy. She expressed gratitude for seeing her daughter, who she says helps guard her heart and mind.
“The veil between this realm and the next is so thin my gentle souls,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Thank you Jesus for your many signs and wonders. I’m grateful.”
