I published a children’s book recently, one of my life long dreams. It is illustrated by a young man in California who is battling a terrible disease called A-T. My niece, Audrey, also battles this rare disease. This summer, I had hosted an Art contest for A-T kids and families and Chad was one of our winners. I was in awe of how many hours and how hard he worked to color his sea creatures, and that sparked the idea to write a story to go along with his illustrations and make a book.
He is over the moon excited and so am I. Chad’s most ambitious dream is to see scientists find the cure for A-T, so we decided to chase that dream too, by donating all profits from the book to the AT Children’s Project. Because A-T is such a rare disease, the ATCP is one of very few funding sources of A-T research. In fact, it was started by a group of parents whose children had A-T.
When your family is faced with such a dark diagnosis, it is easy to get hung up on statistics and the doctor’s devastating prognosis. But A-T warriors like Chad inspire all of us and remind us that no disability can put a limit on how far you can chase your dreams. You can do whatever you set your mind to, as long as you work hard at it.
This weekend, I got some exciting news. Chad’s mother, Louise, sent me a picture of a huge front page article in Chad’s hometown newspaper. I was so excited! It is so fun to be on the receiving end of a front page story! I could just hear Chad’s smile as I saw that huge front page story in California. It was a good reminder that while the news business can be a stressful one, especially when it comes to politics, that what we do is important. Because we get the opportunity to be that huge smile maker….to give people like Chad the special honor they deserve.
If you know a local person who is an inspiration, please feel free to reach out to us. I love those stories.
If you would like to buy the book written by me and illustrated by Chad, you can find it at TheBookPatch.com by searching for my name or the title “Hello! From the Great Blue Sea.”