My family and I recently had the most amazing trip to Clearwater, Florida. We have not been on a "real" vacation in many years. It was just for a long weekend, but it was wonderful to spend time together--just the four of us. In fact, it was a dream come true for my daughter.
We all have dreams---dreams that stem from childhood, dreams that evolve as we get older..and dreams as adults that we strive for.
Do you remember your childhood dreams? What did they look like? Did you ever have the privilege of living any of them before time went on and those dreams changed?
Fortunately for my twelve year old daughter, Olivia, she was able to see her childhood dream become a reality at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.
If you are not familiar with the aquarium, it is the home of Winter the Dolphin, whose story was told in a major motion picture "Dolpin Tale" that was released in 2011. Winter is a brave dolphin that the Aquarium staff rescue on the beach when she was very young. A fishing net had entangled itself around the bottom portion of her tail, and she was abandoned and alone. The aquarium ends up nursing her to health...and having to make a decision about the portion of her tail that enables her to move around that was decaying as a result of her injury. Her tail had to be removed, and she ended up getting a prosthetic tail made by an amazing Dr. at Hanger Orthotics. She is the first animal to ever wear a prosthesis. The tail enables her to swim in a natural way, allowing her spinal chord to function typically.
From the day Olivia saw the movie, she has wanted to meet Winter. They share a special bond--Hanger Orthotics in town also make her Ankle Foot Orthotic brace that she has been wearing on her left leg since she was 2 years old. Winter's ability to fight through the many obstacles surrounding her rescue and healing gave Olivia determination and inspiration to continue working to make the left side of her body function to its highest potential.
Thanks to the amazing people at the home office of Hanger Orthotics, Olivia was able to meet Winter, and learn from her trainer the many tricks Winter can do. She spent time with Winter,and was able to touch her tail without the orthotic. This experience was so very special to her, and to all of us...as it was truly a miraculous day. At the end of her visit with Winter, she posed for a picture while touching Winter's snout. We didn't realize it until we came home and looked at the pictures that Olivia reached out to Winter with her left hand. Olivia's muscles in her left arm and hand are very tight,and she has limited range of motion because of it. She uses her left hand only when she has to, and with weekly occupational therapy, she learns to stretch and incorporate it in her daily living routines (but she is still stubborn, and uses it sparingly).
So the fact that she willingly, subconsciously, reached out to Winter with that hand was truly miraculous. In the video of her experience, as she is reaching out to Winter, Winter is swimming towards her hand so she can feel her snout. In this tiny moment of time, the two of them connected.
It may not sound so miraculous to you, but since she was a baby we have worked on getting her to use her hand more. To our entire family, this became so much more than Olivia's dream. As special parents, my husband and I had our own dream come true.
We thank the wonderful people of Hanger, and the staff at the Aquarium for their warm welcome, and making our day one that we all will remember forever.
Seeing Winter and Olivia's connection can be inspiration to all of us to keep on reaching for our dreams...
You can see Olivia's dream come true here: www.seewinter.com
-Maria
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