(a letter written by Gisele’s Mother, Rita)

Dear Friend of March of Dimes,

There are moments in life when you feel as though your world is collapsing. In my life, it was when the doctor told me that my daughter might never walk. Gisele is a delightful, beautiful and at times a feisty little girl, who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy mainly affecting her legs. She enjoys attending pre-school and has learned to manoeuvre her way around her classroom with a walker or canes and wears restrictive orthotics and casts for long periods of time.

I want Gisele to have the same opportunities as other children. No child in this day and age should ever have to face his or her future in a wheelchair if there is an alternative. Like any parent, I want my daughter to be all that she can be. That’s why I left no stone unturned in my search for treatments for our daughter – and after I’d considered every possibility, why I chose the Conductive Education program at Ontario March of Dimes. I believed it would make a real difference and give her a chance at having independence in her life.

There’s no doubt in my mind – if it wasn’t for the Conductive Education program, our daughter would be using a wheelchair today and for the rest of her life. Instead, she is getting around on her own using two 4-prong canes. She’s working on using single point canes, and after that we’re hopefully down to one cane. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if one day she could manage without any cane at all?

Thanks to the Ontario March of Dimes staff, we believe, and more importantly, Gisele believes that tomorrow she can and will be better than she is today. Her progress has truly been miraculous.

I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter. I hope that you will support Ontario March of Dimes so that Gisele and others with physical disabilities can continue to have hope!

Yours very truly,

Rita