A friend of ours called us a few months ago to tell us about a young boy, Christopher, she had been working with at her horse stables. He is 14 years old and had severe bipolar disorder. His illness was getting so bad that they had to pull him out of regular school and his mother had to quit her job to stay home and take care of him. He had been on every drug possible, sometimes many at a time, however nothing was helping. This poor child struggled so much because he knew he was sick and just wanted so badly to feel "normal."
His mother decided she needed to find something for him to do during the day when she wasn't schooling him. She had found our friend who is very passionate about horses and gives lessons. After only a few weeks of working with the horses, this young boy started to change. One of the horses, Journey, fell head over heels in love with him, and apparently the feeling was mutual! This gave Christopher a reason to "be." The unconditional love and understanding that Christopher and Journey share is helping him to start healing and is also giving him a purpose in life.
Our friend decided she wanted to give Christopher this horse, so it would be all his! Unfortunately, due to these horrible economic times, his family was unable to afford the boarding for Journey. That's where you all came in. Using your generous donations we were able to help them pay for the boarding for Journey so that Christopher can continue to heal and work toward a fulfilling and happy life.
If you would have seen the look of gratitude in that precious boy's eyes, it would have been life changing. I know it was for me. When we got to the stables to present him with the check he came running over to us and gave us a huge hug and thank you. He was so grateful and excited to have Journey!!!
His parents were just as gracious. They asked all about Hailey and looked at pictures of her as I told them her story. I could see the concern and unconditional love in their eyes for their son. I personally know how hard it is to have a child who is struggling with something that cannot just be "fixed." It is one of the most difficult things for a parent to deal with. What an honor it was for us to be able to do something like this in Hailey's name. We cannot thank you all enough for your donations to make things like this possible.
Hailey LOVED horses! I have some great pictures of her at the stables when she was younger. We always thought that when she grew up she would be a horse lover. Before she passed away, I was actually in the process of looking into starting her in a horse class so she could be around them more. It's known that horse therapy can be miraculous for people, as it has been for Christopher, which is why this halo was particularly close to our heart. We were able to give Christopher what we weren't able to give Hailey before she passed away.
Christopher and Journey
Hailey loved horses!
What a wonderful and beautiful story. Hailey Mayz continue to lives through these Halo's and as her "Grammies", a title that I am most honored to carry, I am so greatful and thankful for the Hailey Mayz Foundation and to you Wendy and Sean, her parents, for creating a loving memorial to a very special little angel. God Bless you all and let's keep her light shining!
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