Going to visit Santa is a special thing for any child, but for 7-year-old Garrett Coyne’s it’s both special and exciting, he really loves seeing Santa every year. So much so that the family makes it a special event every year at the local mall.
This year though, a parking lot Grinch has dampened the spirits of the family!
Garrett went to the mall this year with his mom, Nancy, to spend some time to see Santa, she only wanted to bring a little joy into his life! They parked in a handicapped parking space and went to see Santa.
When they got back got back to the car, they were completely shocked! Somebody had scrawled something on the car…
Someone had written on the car in lipstick, the words:
“UR not handicap”
Nancy really felt awful about it, not surprisingly, she was hurt and saddened by what had happened the parking lot Grinch really didn’t know what her family has to cope with every day.
Garrett was diagnosed with Batten’s disease around the age of three years old, it’s a neurological disease and it is degenerative, he will slowly lose his motor skills over time.
Sadly his speech is declining quite fast, he also has no vision and he is stuck in a wheelchair. There is no known cure or for that matter treatment either. More often than not the condition ends in childhood death.
Their car was parked in a disabled space with a legal permit, at the mall, which is even odder and surprising why somebody had done what they had!
Nancy said:
“I can’t believe someone could be so obnoxious and ignorant and rude about a situation that I struggle with daily”
The place where it happened, at the mall, they have also spoken out, they too are offended by what had happened there!
During the investigation by the police, the mall is giving their full cooperation to help find the person responsible for doing this.
At first, the family was very angry, but now having had the time to reflect, they just hope that the person realizes that what they did was wrong.
The Coynes have since started a non-profit in his name since discovering Garrett’s illness, called Garrett the Grand – Batten Fighter.
They have raised a whopping $100,000 to help other children who also have Batten disease and to provide ongoing support to Garrett and children like him.
Every single day the Coynes are dead set to show Garrett that nobody can crush his spirit, to give him the best life and experience he can have, for what little life he has left.
His dad Joe said:
“You just have to do the best you can and always move forward …You have to look at it all and say, Let’s just live.”