Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Thanks for giving us a hand!

When good things come your way, rarely do they ever just happen to come your way.  Usually, when something really, truly worthwhile comes your way, there was a lot of effort, a chunk of time, sometimes some money, and most often a whole ton of caring that went behind that very good thing.  This was most definitely the case for us with Bella’s myoelectric prosthesis.  A whole team of awesome people at Hanger Prosthetics, including our prosthetician, Will, and all the other hands behind behind Bella’s hand presented Bella with this awesome tool – a tool that she can use to assist her, a tool that will help prevent her from getting carpal tunnel and other problems related to overuse on her biological hand, a tool that will help her learn about the world.

We always knew that there were many dollars that went behind Bella’s hand… many tens of thousands of dollars, that is.  We knew that some generous, kind-spirited rotary wives were the source of the donations.  But what we never knew was how those donations got from their hands to, well… Bella’s hand.  A few weeks ago, we net Carrie Davis, and that was no longer a mystery.  Carrie was the sole fundraiser for Inner Wheel, the program that provides myoelectric prostheses for children with upper limb deficiencies.  Without even knowing Bella, Carrie was one of the greatest advocates Bella has ever had.  And we are so grateful to her.

I’m also going to say a little bit about how awesome Carrie is, and how honored I am to have a role model for Bella like Carrie.  Carrie has the same limb deficiency as Bella (yes, it’s hard to tell, Carrie’s prosthetic hand is beautiful and completely natural looking).  She is a huge advocate for kids with limb deficiencies, she helps run a camp called Camp No Limits for kids with limb deficiencies and their families (we’re planning on going next year!), she is an inspiring athlete, and a triathlon competitor.  Carrie has about a dozen (maybe more) ends for her prosthetic arm, allowing her to weight lift, box, swim (with a fin), make jewelry(!!!), and do pretty much anything you can imagine!

It was such a pleasure meeting her, and we are so grateful to her and to everyone else who went behind Bella’s hand.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness there are so many wonderful people in the world! Marty

Anonymous said...

:)

Anonymous said...

What an amazing woman and role model for Bella and other children like her..! So grateful to her! Nana Starr

Anonymous said...

Hi Guys! It was such a pleasure to meet your children! I hope I get to see you all sooner than later. If ever you need anything or have any questions OR know someone who might need assistance, please do not hesitate to call on me. All the Best, Carrie Davis:)