Negative-G - Worlds Of Fun 2014 Coasting For Kids Page Seven

Worlds of Fun
Kansas City, Missouri
Coasting For Kids
June 8, 2014
Page Seven

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Coasting For Kids at Worlds of Fun, Kansas City, Missouri

Even with the brand new Banshee at Kings Island I have to say that Patriot is still my #1 inverted coaster out there.

The final hour of our ERT was Patriot and it really a great way to cap off the day at Worlds of Fun.

It is great to get to have access to such great rides and not to have to deal with lines but I'd still participate is Coasting For Kids if they didn't offer any perks because being able to give a little bit of hope, fun and magic that amusement parks bring to a child on their deathbed or a child who has fought every moment of their entire life and had to spend more time in the hospital than outside playing is worth it to me.

Bond and I got into fundraising for Give Kids the World last year because of my nephew Louie. He was born three years ago with a rare genetic disorder that kept his muscles from developing, kept him from ever walking, kept him on a breathing machine just to stay alive. Knowing that we wouldn't be able to share with him what Bond and I love so much wasn't easy to deal with. Then we saw several kids from Give Kids the World at Walt Disney World and how the park and their employees really went out of their way to make it so these kids, even if they were wheelchair bound could ride many of the rides we had. At that moment we decided to do something not just for Louie but for all of the kids like him for who just getting to another day was a struggle. That was to raise money for Give Kids The World Village.

Unfortunately for Louie the story does not have a happy ending. In August of this year after what was a really good day for Louie as he got to go to a pool with his sister and got to go for a walk his heart rate started to drop. His heart like many kids with with his disorder just ran out of steam. Louie was here for as long as he could and there was nothing that anyone could do for him and he passed away early that evening just after his father got home from work.

We all knew that someday he would go. He was in line to try out an experimental gene therapy sometime in 2015 that has completely cured the disorder in dogs who have it. He would have been four next year and that is when his parents were going to put in a request to go to Walt Disney World and to stay at Give Kids The World as he always loved watching the videos of my trip pictures that I make for my family for Christmas. Knowing Louie, he would have loved it there but it just was not to be.

The night that he passed the entire family got together to grieve and I had happened to have my Coasting For Kids shirt on. Amidst all of the tears my sister in law looked up and saw the shirt and said to me:

"You and Bond need to keep raising money for them. There are others like Louie who need to go."

And so we will. For Louie.

Please donate to Give Kids The World or participate or donate to Coasting For Kids in 2015 and beyond. If you want to join in our raising money in Louie's memory please contribute to someone on or join the Negative-G Coasting For Kids Team at whichever park you decide to participate at..