When Lindsay was born, she was born with spina bifida. And Doctor Ed Cosmetic, who was her neurosurgeon, referred us to Easterseals. You can imagine it was a bit of a shock. We were told about Easterseals in the hospital and we immediately contacted the organization and started to gather information.
The people that we met there were just so passionate about the organization and just opened their arms to us and gave us all the help and support that we could possibly need at that time. We just we fell into a a team of people who are just stunningly caring, competent and just giving. They really were. Even though as we sit here today and she's not with us, the 34 years that the compassionate people involved in her life... it's beyond gratification, it just tells you great things about people, folks, and what can happen when something comes your way that you don't expect.
She was a big advocate of Easterseals and, when asked, would speak about the benefits of Easterseals. So she was very, very passionate about this organization and appreciative of what they did for her. She certainly participated and encouraged people to come and join in. So Easterseals was a huge is still and still is a huge part of our lives and always will be.
From the time Lindsey was probably four years old, she was in dance class when Lindsey was born. There were no guarantees that Lindsey would walk, let alone dance, and she just took to it. She loved it. She would put a big smile on her face. And so when we had an opportunity to do something for Easterseals, they had suggested that they had a dance program. It had been suspended for a while, and we thought that would be perfect. We would love to fund (Chance to Dance) in her memory. So that's how we got involved. Lindsey learned to walk here, so the mission was so important to us that we wanted to volunteer, we wanted to contribute and just be a part of this great organization.
I don't think there's any doubt that the mission and effort that people make here is life changing. And it might not be your child, but just embrace these kids and their miracles. They're miracles. And we could not be more appreciative of the job they've done. And 40 years later, we're still involved. And we will be forever.
I don't know what we would have done without a place like Easterseals. Where would we have turned to? Where would we have got not only the emotional support, the physical support. These people are talented, they're trained. They know what they're doing. We just owe her success to Easterseals.
