Why We Do This

Leah has been in the news a lot over the last couple months, and a couple organizations have used her and our story in different ways... galas, newsletters, local newspaper and other fund-raising activities.  We have always been very open about sharing our story, but I'm a relatively private person and sometimes have heartburn with putting ourselves out there so much.  Just recently, I heard a story that reminded me why I do this.  In the end, it's to make connections and help other families like ours find the support they need.

One of the galas we were featured in this spring was for her daycare.  As a side note, I'm very overly cautious not to mention the name of her daycare because this blog is public and I'm a little paranoid about having strangers know where she goes to school.  It's why I haven't shared much about our work with them.  They had us in a video talking about why we love it there and why it's been such a blessing to our family.  We didn't know it at the time, but there was someone there who was introduced to this organization for the first time.  Her fiancé's son is 4 and has spina bifida, too, and he splits his time between South Dakota and Minneapolis.  In our story, we talked about Leah's spina bifida, and how she is accepted for who she is.  This woman immediately contacted our daycare, and they've since accommodated her little boy's schedule for him to come just a few days a month when he's here in town.  All because we were open to sharing about the road we traveled, we were able to help another family.  Bennett and Leah now play together when he's at school, and she even wants to walk like he does, with walking sticks!  It's also nice for Leah to see another boy at school who's just like she is.  Sometimes things work out so well!