Last week, I had one of the most beautiful days of my life. I decided to take a break from my work and school life and go out to enjoy one of Miss K's softball practices. The weather was beautiful, the girls were having a great time with the two amazing coaches we have been blessed with and we were really enjoying just being parents and being blessed enough to be able to have the time to watch her at a practice on a weeknight.
As we were watching Miss K, I couldn't help but noticing a little boy playing in the background by the stands. He had the greatest smile on his face. You could tell he was so happy that it was nice outside, so that he could be out in the grass playing. He seemed to have a bit of a disability or ailment, but it didn't stop him. He played like nothing was going to stop him that day. The boy looked as if he was maybe 5 years old, and I noticed his mother happened to be sitting right next to me. She watched him, worried and telling him to be careful. He kept laughing and smiling, completely oblivious to anything but the nice weather and all of the kids playing and having fun.
After a while of observing the little boy, I took a deep breath and reached out to the Mom next to me. I asked her if she would mind if I asked her a question and that I didn't mean to pry. I asked if her son had a disability, and to my surprise opened up to tell me the story about her little boy. Her son is a miracle. A true miracle that I have never seen in real life. As she told her story I cried. Her little boy was born at 1 lb 7 oz at a very early age and his brother, only 1 lb 5 oz. His brother did not survive. This little boy survived, and... as you all know my beliefs, this little boy survived to tell his story. He was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and barely started walking on his own without a walker last week! She said he taught himself to walk on his toes and he has never been so happy. I wiped tears away again. The boy had just turned 7 years old. I was really struggling now to hold it together, but in my mind I told myself that this mother was amazingly strong to tell her story and that I was going to listen.
After talking to the little boy's mother for a while, I strummed up a little more courage and asked who his specialist was here in town. She put her head down. This was difficult for her I could tell. There has not been anyone here who could help this little boy specifically with his issues, they have been told only to go to Denver. Surgery after surgery, visit after visit. The boy has had braces, AFO's, a Walker, more scheduled surgeries and just endless medical care. All of which, is not covered by Medicaid. My mouth dropped. She was living the medical care nightmare, but so much worse than what we had lived with Miss K. I asked this mother if she had ever gotten help from Shriner's Hospital. She said no, who is that?
It was very hard for me to not cry at this point in the conversation with this mother, knowing how many bills have built up for this family and how many surgeries the poor child has had to endure, especially with people like Shriner's Hospital for Children out there to help. I explained what the Shrine would help with, how they help, what they would provide, and how much of a great help they have been to my family and SO many others. The mother and I exchanged numbers and I promised to get her the information to start her help with Shriner's Hospitals. There are other plans I have for this little boy, but that will come later.
So, what does that have to do with Onions?? Well... each year all of the Shriners Groups across the United States do fundraisers to help their local Shrine Organizations send our kids and children like this little boy to the Shriner's Hospitals for Children to get the medical help they need. One of the most famous fundraisers is the Vidalia Onion Sales. These Onions have become quite famous across the states. If you Google "Vidalia Onion Sales Shriners", you will get pages and pages of fundraisers, news articles, Facebook Pages and so on. They are a low priced way for all of us to pitch in and give back a little to our local Shrine. You can look up any of the members selling these fantastic onions the Panhandle Shrine Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/PanhandleShrineClubofWesternNebraska/, or you can find them at our local Main Street Market for sale.
Buy a bag of onions. You could be the one who fills someone's day with tears of joy.
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