The Make A Wish Foundation and Karly

Karly had the most amazing experience in late December/early January when she had the wonderful opportunity to go on a Make A Wish trip.  Karly's wish was to swim with dolphins, so the Make A Wish team arranged for a trip to Orlando, Florida, where we swam with dolpins at Discovery Cove.

We ended up having TWO wonderful days at Discovery Cove (due to a computer scheduling issue).  The first day was spent snorkeling in the artificial reef, which was such a wonderful experience! I am not sure how possible it would be to give Karly that opportunity in the open ocean.  We also had a great time at the aviary - will post pictures from the aviary later.   But the day with the dolphins was the most awesome day!  We started out meeting 18 month old Acai, who let us play with her and hug and kiss on her.  The interaction with this sweet, young dolphin was such fun!

Karly's brother Rob got to come with us, and all 3 of us enjoyed meeting Acai!

After meeting Acai, her big, strong daddy came out to see us.  He showed off some of his tricks and then took us all for a ride around the lagoon.

It's pretty clear that Karly was having a good time!  She LOVED this opportunity and we are all so thankful to the Make A Wish Foundation for making this happen!  Big thanks to Discovery Cove too.  Their facilities are awesome and it sure seemed to us that the dolphins enjoyed their day just as much as we did!

Karly and Taylor - BFFs

"The Best Days of Your Life"

(a song that Taylor and Kellie Pickler wrote together)

Karly would say this was definitely one of the best days of her life!

Just a few weeks after Karly's kidneys failed, we were planning at attend a Taylor Swift concert.  With a sudden onset of a very serious illness, there was grave concern about Karly's future.  When I shared this will Angie Ward, a DJ for WTQR (104.1), she said that she would arrange for Karly to meet Taylor backstage after her performance. 

Taylor was amazing - very friendly and caring.  We took a few pictures and then she spent a lot of time visiting with Karly, while I had a little time to chat with Taylor's very cool mom. 

Thanks, Taylor, for a great visit!

How to Have Fun at the Beach

1.  Find a hunky lifeguard to give you a lift to the water.

2. Make friends with these great lifeguards who provided you with a beach wheelchair to make life much easier!

3. Ask some of the guards if they would like to get in the water.

4. Enlist mom to get wet too.

5. Wait for a big wave!

6. Just a little help getting back on the beach.

7.  A good book!

8. A fun trip back to the car.  We had a GREAT TIME!  Thanks Atlantic Beach Lifeguards.  And we appreciate the town providing beach wheelchairs!

Riding with Tony

Karly has been participating in therapeutic horseback riding for 11 years.  She has been riding Tony, a Belgian gelding for 3 or 4 years.  He's a gentle giant and takes good care of her.  Since Karly's kidney transplant she can no longer ride independently, as the doctors require her to have a side walker for safety purposes, but she still has a lot of fun!

In these pictures, Karly is participating in an egg drop class at a local horse show.  Riding is one of the greatest joys of Karly's life!

Karly's Life

My daughter, Karly, was born 18 years ago.  When she arrived, we found out that she had spina bifida, a condition caused by a hole in the spinal column, which is very similar to having a spinal cord injury.  While spina bifida can be a complex life situation, Karly has had a great life, with minimal medical issues or intervention until her kidneys failed 4 years ago.  Since then she has been through a lot, including a kidney transplant, but she is the most amazing person I have ever met and I wanted to share her story with you.