Every once and awhile a story comes along that tugs at the ole’ heart strings. These stories are disguised blessings, teaching us who we are, what we can achieve and, for a moment, make us feel like we can change the world ...
Living in Clearwater, Florida is pure paradise; Tons of sunshine, beautiful swaying palm trees and white sandy beaches. During our day-to-day lives we enjoy cool summer breezes, great local activities and peace, but sometimes we loose touch with other events that happen with-in our own backyard. One such event was the .
For those of you who don’t know the story, Winter the dolphin was found washed up on the beach and dying because she was tangled in fisherman’s crab trap rope. After being rescued and transported to the Clearwater Marine Hospital she was treated for her injuries and soon began her long remarkable recovery back to health. Although the rescue saved her life, she continued to experience many setbacks, including the removal of her tail. All of this would eventually push her to overcome insurmountable odds.
As we all know, with no tail and no way to swim (other than splashing side to side) dolphins can’t survive. As the Clearwater Marine Hospital team continued to look for answers, one of the members reached out to a local prosthesis engineer (at the VA hospital). After many unsuccessful attempts she was fitted with a new mechanical tale which allowed her to swim (and prove everyone wrong that a dolphin could survive AND swim with this type of condition).
Last night, I took Dylan (and his twin brother Ryan) to see the movie “Dolphin Tale”; an amazing true story of hope, friendship and love. A couple of months back the twins and I had the wonderful opportunity to see Winter the dolphin in person (at the Clearwater Marine Center). Having the chance for Dylan to be that close to her and experience her generous heart was incredible and breathtaking (at the same time).
As we watched the movie it was hard not to think about our previous visit, the scenes and story instantly reached out to us in ways that made our eyes water. Knowing that Dylan experienced the same emotions being emulated on the screen was, at times tough to handle. The remarkable love, care and affection Winter continues to show individuals with disabilities is mind boggling. It’s almost as if she knows and understands the difficulty of others with disabilities and wants to prove that anything is possible!
I left the movie wiping tears from my eyes while looking at my son Dylan, knowing deep down, that he has the same fortitude, love and desire to be whoever he wants to be in life and the will to succeed.
I know (and tell myself) that I can’t teach him these emotions, I can’t instill the desire, the passion or drive that we just witnessed on the big screen, but what I do know is that one brave dolphin can inspire the will and love in all of us, and tonight it did just that! I opened this story by saying that we are fortunate to live in this community of Clearwater and it just so happens we share it with an unbelievable dolphin named Winter.
Click here for the Official Winter the dolphin website