Karly McKinnon is a beautiful 15 year old who, at the age of 14, was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease called Vasculitis. Her diagnosis and further complications required many chemotherapy treatments, weeks in the hospital and a surgery. She has hours of dialysis daily and will require a kidney transplant. Our foundation had the privilege of meeting Karly with the hopes of granting her a Dream and it was like meeting a “ray of sunshine”! Karly’s attitude and grace has been an inspiration to her family and all who have met her. It was decided that as long as Karly was able to travel, she and her family and all the so necessary equipment would fly to California to enjoy the many sights and sunshine. This Dream was fulfilled in May with the first stop being Santa Monica where Karly and her family went on a dolphin viewing adventure, strolled down Hollywood Boulevard and visited an aquarium.
Next stop was San Francisco viewing the mass of sea lions at Pier 39 and then for Karly, the highlight of her Dream, a tour of the Alcatraz Prison. In June, Westman Dreams for Kids hosted our annual Children’s Country Fair. This day is annually dedicated to the children and families in the area to enjoy all the free activities, crafts and entertainment. The event is totally volunteer driven and one of the first volunteers to offer their name was Miss Karly McKinnon! Many little faces got painted by this very inspirational teen as her way of thanking our foundation for her Dream. It was our honor to meet Karly McKinnon and to see how much joy her Dream brought to her & as we told her, she is now our California Girl!
Jenny’s Dream