Never give up on your dreams

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    raised of $4,000.00 goal goal
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Im a single mother of three girls from Florida. My 19 year old daughter has been given a great opportunity to play divison one NAIA womens basketball in Indiana. With scholarship money and federal aid she is $4,000 short to attend. As a parent and student we took out $14,000 in loans this year. Angela is an amzing young lady who has over come many hurdles. We moved from NY to FL at the start of her 11th grade. My family had some tragic accidents happen and we moved to help them. Angela started a new school where she knew no one. She joined a summer basketball program through the school to meet some people. By the start of school this 6 foot tall beautiful new girl who could paly basketball was well known. A week into the practice season Angela got a bacteria infection in her right eye. It started on a friday night with what we thought was pink eye. By sunday we knew this was much more serious. Monday am we saw a local opthamologist, who never saw anything like this. He sent us right away on an emergency walk to a specialist. Who than perpared us for her to lose her eye. One more day and the infection would hve spread to her brain. His lab did a culture to be able to make an eye drop stron enough for this infection. every hour on the hour around the clock she had to put drops in her eye. We saw the doctor everyday with no improvement. He kept preparing us for her to lose the eye. Angela wasnt giving up everyday for two months she did her drops and saw the eye doctor. She couldnt go to school and no basketball. She stayed positive she went to every practice and suported her new team. The season started and she was still out of school with no improvement in her eye, but she went to every game and sat on the bench and supported her team. Every visit she begged the doctor to let her back to school and let her play basketball. Three months later she go to go to school, but had to go to the nurse every three hours for eye drops, wear sun glasses, and sit in the front row to be able to see. She played violin since sixth grade and had to give it up because the lighting on stage was to painful and she couldnt see the music. She also was unable to get her drivers permit because she had no vision in her right eye and could not pass the eye test. She still never gave up on basketball. She asked that doctor every visit to let her play. He told her she would never play baskeyball again it was way to risky. Angela refused to hear those word, she had already gave up so much she was not giving up her dream and passion. The last month of the basketball season he cleared her, agaisnt his better judgement, to practice but only with googles on. Angela was the happiset girl on earth. Untill she got on the court. Nothing was the same with 75% vision gone no deapth perception, and no support from the coach. She practiced everyday all day she taught her self to play again in a whole new way. Her senior year she was captain and second highest scorer on the team. She made the county all star team, but Angela knew she still wasnt even 75% back to what she was before the injury. She lost faith in her self. I watched my daughter lose her love for the game and it crushed me. Angela gave up all dreams and hopes of playing in college. After she graduated she started coaching a 10u rec co ed basketball team, while she went to college full time and worked at Dicks sporting goods full time. The eye doctor wrote a wavier for her to get her drivers licence, finally at 18 years old. Things were looking better but she was still missing something. One day a women came in to Dicks sporting goods to buy a bike and they start to talk, she had just got a job (two days before) as an assistant coach at Goshen Indiana college. She asked angela to come work out with her the next day (not knowing about her eye injury) angela said yes. The next day the played one on one. When angela put on her goggles the coach asked why she wore them, Angela told her the story and she could not believe she was newly blind in her right eye, had no real collegiate coaching, no real coaching since tenth grade period. She asked angela to drive to Indiana the next week to an open gym at the college, even though the team was full and they couldnt pay for the trip. This coach saw something in my daughter that I thought only I saw. As a mother who watched her daugter give up on something she loved since she was a young girl I was going to make this trip happen. If all we got out the trip was for her to believe in her self again it would be well worth it. We drove 23 hours through horrible weather and traffic, both sick with sinus infection to go to an open gym not even a tryout! The head coach thought we were crazy, the high school angela went to had no film no stats nothing to even show she ever played basketball there. The head coach met us and said She heard from the assistant coach that angela was good but her team was full and she had no scholarship money left, so best case scenario would be a walk on player. She also showed some concern about her being blind in the right eye and that any infection, scratch or hit she could lose the eye. The head coach asked angela what her weakness was (thinking it would be her eye) angela said my left hand ball handel is weak. Coach said what is your greatest strength, angela said being blind in my right eye. The coach looked confused and said what. Angela said because I cant see out my right eye now I have to communicate with my team and I have to be physical so I can feel who is on my right side. The coach was every impressed with her answers, but still concerned. Well later that day during open gym my daughter proved everyone, including her self that she could play as good if not better than any player on that court. She played amazing the best I ever saw my daughter play she left her heart and soul on that court, she was a true leader. After the open gym she said mom I came 23 hours away to prove to myself that I can do this. I was so proud and at that point I saw the love of the game back in my daughters eyes for the first time in three long years. That was worth the trip all by its self. The head coach came over and asked us to meet her the next morning in the media room. The next day when we walked in we were blown away her name on the the big screen, uniforms, sneakers, tee shirts and coaches sitting around a table to tell us how amazing Angela was. The only problem was they had no money left in the budget, but wanted her under contract so they could only offer a $1000. We had alot to think about on our 23 hour drive home. All the kids angela coached were so proud of her and they believed in thier coach. If angela could make a divison one team blind in one eye they could do anything they put thier minds to. She gave them hope and drive. We took loans and did what we had to and got her off to college in a two week time frame. The first game we all watched her on tv warming up and it was like a dream. I have never been so proud of my daughter she never used her eye as an excuse for anything. She let her eye be her strength. Angela wants to return next year and she got a better basketball scholarship but she is still short $14,000. Please help Angela follow her dreams!

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Donors

  • Chris Randle
  • Donated on May 16, 2014
  • Loved your Grandma, Your Mom and I believe in you also. Follow your dreams Baby.

$25.00
  • Uncle John and Aunt Nikki
  • Donated on May 16, 2014
  • Best of Luck, go gittum :-) Love you

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2 donors
  • Chris Randle
  • Donated on May 16, 2014
  • Loved your Grandma, Your Mom and I believe in you also. Follow your dreams Baby.

$25.00
  • Uncle John and Aunt Nikki
  • Donated on May 16, 2014
  • Best of Luck, go gittum :-) Love you

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US$50.00
raised of $4,000.00 goal
1% Funded
2 Donors

No more donations are being accepted at this time. Please contact the campaign owner if you would like to discuss further funding opportunities