Mom finds her daughter’s backpack stuffed with cash, then begins to worry. When her daughter arrives home late from school with her backpack bursting at the seams, she expects the worst. When she finally sees what’s inside, she finds something that her daughter set up entirely alone.
Tired after her long delivery, the young mother and anxious father welcomed their infant daughter into the world, and they immediately realized something was horribly wrong. It appeared that her legs were not like those of other infants.
Terrified, they looked to the doctors and saw the worry on their faces. They knew instantly that their baby was in for a long road ahead. Within a few short days, the tiny girl was to undergo her first of a series of intricate surgeries, all with the outcome of correcting her legs.
Each surgery left the new parents broken and scared, but they had to remain strong for the new life they had created, and they drew comfort from the fact that the baby was not in any pain. Straight away, they began searching for elusive answers. After countless visits with doctors, they determined that their baby had been born with Larsen Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that only one in one thousand people have.
The disorder affects the development of bones throughout the body, so long story short, her hips were dislocated, she was born with a clubfoot, and her knees were turned backward. Some were as harmless as a hammer toe, but often times with far more serious and far-reaching complications.
They needed to know exactly to how great an extent this affected their newborn. The answers were more terrible than they could dream. They had named her Addie, and the parents clearly remembered the day they were told the full extent of her health problems. Her legs were not straight and would affect her ability to walk. The doctors told the still hopeful parents that they feared she would never be able to walk.
But refusing to give in, they knew they would do whatever it took to give Addy a normal life. But where did they begin? Finally, after four surgeries to her legs, the new family could go and start their life at home and out of the hospital. Even though the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital does all it can to make both the parents and children feel as though they weren’t in a hospital at all, it was still a relief to finally go home. Texas Scottish Rite Hospital because they do everything possible to make it where it doesn’t feel like you’re at a hospital, take very good care of the kids, and they take very good care.
It makes it pretty easy while you’re there. Addie was growing up beautifully, just like any regular child. She was mobile in her own way, and her parents were just happy that even though her legs looked awkward, they actually didn’t cause Addy any pain. For her, it was normal. There was a long road ahead for all of them, but where it was leading, they would only find out much later.
By the age of seven, Addie had had up to 65 surgeries to correct her legs, and the perseverance of this fearless young girl, her endlessly supportive parents, and the amazing hospital had gotten her to the point where she is able to walk and run like any healthy young child. But more was in store for this family just out of sight. Because Addie had spent so much of her young life at a Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, either in surgery, recovering, or going through physical therapy, she was always happy to be out and about, running around, going to school, and making friends. That no one even suspected she was hiding something huge. Addie spent a lot of time away from home.
She wasn’t at the hospital, and her parents suspected that she was just enjoying playing in the summer sun with her school friends, as all children should. They didn’t know that Addie was far from playing. Her mom only suspected something was amiss when her daughter’s backpack kept coming home bigger and bigger until one day, she had to look inside. After her daughter was snugly asleep for the night, her mother went to find the growing backpack. She just had to know what her daughter was doing, lugging something so huge in and out of the house every day.
But when she unzipped it, her heart stopped as piles upon piles of cash began spilling out. Where on earth had her seven-year-old found thousands of dollars in cash? Afraid at what Addie may be involved in, she thought of waking her up right then and there to confront her. But decided that she needed time to calm down and would ask Addie in the morning what Addie had been hiding would soon be confronted, but the reason behind the act was going to be astounding. The next morning, a curious yet nervous mother broached the subject of the enormous sum of money her daughter had somehow gotten into her possession.
She was terrified of what she may hear, but she should have trusted her daughter because when Addie began to tell her story, her mother’s eyes filled with tears, and her heart thudded with pride. She began completely oblivious of the magnitude of her campaign and her mother’s shock. “I just hold a sign that says, for my birthday wish, I want to raise eight thousand dollars for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital.” That was when her mother’s heart broke with love for this sweet child who had gone through such immense trials. She would do absolutely anything to help Addie get her birthday wish.
Her mom could now be seen standing alongside Addie at the intersection in a busy neighborhood in Houston, Texas. It was not long before people began to talk about the generosity of this tiny girl who once doctors thought would never walk was now standing in the Texas heat on her own two feet, trying to give back to the hospital that had given her so much. Her story was soon published, and with a typical snowball effect, it went viral and was even picked up by many leading newspapers and TV channels. Her story just kept appearing all over the internet, and her dreams of eight thousand dollars were not only met but exceeded. Just how far could she go with the help of her mother?
In an extremely short space of time, Addie had raised almost 20 thousand dollars, and it wasn’t showing any signs of slowing down yet. An anonymous letter and check arrived on her doorstep one day, in closing the crazy amount of fifty thousand dollars to be put towards helping children just like Addie. But just why did Addie take on this huge task for the hospital? As we know, Addie was born with this terrible hardship, and her parents were not even remotely prepared for all the costs it would involve her help to lead a healthy life. Addie’s family accepted the generosity of the hospital in her time of need.
Hospitals like Texas Scottish Rite actually run on donations like Addie’s to provide the care that children need, even if their families can’t afford it. “Wow, that’s a lot of money. I think all the kids are going to be happy, and they can get out of the hospital faster.” The media played a massive part in letting Addie realize her birthday wish, spreading her message far and wide, and the response from the public was outstanding. This young girl had touched the hearts of everyone.
Never focusing on the negatives in her life, she said, “I might say I got all this money for all the new cast and prosthetic legs.” We can give credit to the wonderful parenting that Addie received in her short life. Unlike so many others, she has big dreams, and this is something that she wanted to do. Her birthday wish definitely came true. Addie and her parents proved that being selfless and positive is so important in spreading goodness around us.
With the hard work and kind gesture towards the hospital, so many children can now benefit thanks to her passion for helping others, just as she once needed help.
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