A video posted on WelcomeHomeBlog.com generated hundreds of comments, thousands of Facebook “likes” and some mentions on major news outlets. In the video, a returning marine sees his son walk for the first time.
“When my husband left on his deployment, our 6-year-old son could not walk on his own,” writes Melissa Cooney on the website where she submitted the video. “He has cerebral palsy. Doctors originally said that he would never walk or do much of anything. While daddy was away, he learned to walk. For his homecoming, we set it up for Michael to walk to his daddy for the first time ever! We kept the fact the he could walk a secret the whole time his dad was gone!”
The video is one of the most popular posts on the site, which features emotional reunions of returning soldiers and their loved ones.
A few days after the video was posted, another post appeared in response to the strong reaction. Since so many people asked how they could help the family in the comments section, the family created an online donation site.
Cooney, who has two special needs children, said that “every little bit helps.”
It is inspiring to see how the Internet can rally folks together around a good cause. Families with cerebral palsy children face a few more obstacles than most families do, and assistance from strangers can make a world of difference.
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – cerebral palsy attorneys
