Izzy's 8th Birthday Party

GABE AND IZZY

I went to a dog's birthday party on Saturday.

It was cute. Izzy, the dog being honored, showed up with bows in her hair and her nails painted a festive, matching pink. She received doggie presents and even got to gobble up a doggie-sized birthday cake with her two little bulldog friends watching and drooling nearby.

It sounds corny, but it was a touching event that drew press coverage and brought people in from all over southeastern Michigan to help with the celebration.

You see, Izzy and her 28-year old owner Gabrielle, both share the same neurological disorder - a disease that is slowly stealing control of their nervous system. The vets said Izzy wasn't supposed to live more than a year. She is now eight.

Gabe was a dancer. As a child, this beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed girl loved ballet, tap and jazz dancing and taking to the stage was a joy for her. At age 12, when her disease first began, she had to give up that joy and over the years as she began to stumble and limp, the kids in her high school bullied her. She was teased and even beaten. Eventually, she retreated to her room, curled up in bed and hid from the world. Only when her parents got her a puppy to care for, and only when that puppy got sick, did she venture out into the world that had abused her, among her peers in her home town, to take her dog to the vet.

The dog, it seems, has what Gabe has.

That's when their journey began. Nearly eight years ago.

Animal Planet featured a show on them, which became a hit. Then a local teacher asked Gabe and her dog to visit their class. The kids asked about her background, and when she started talking about bullying and how it scarred her, they really listened. Today, Gabe, who is now in a wheelchair, and her faithful companion Izzy, travel the nation talking to school kids about the long-lasting scars of bullying.

Gabe and Izzy are over-comers. Gabe lost the control of her muscles in a scary and horrible way, with no medical treatment available and none in sight. She lost dancing, which meant the world to her. And she lost herself for awhile, as harsh words and mean hands tore apart who she believed herself to be.

Life is hard, and Gabe has certainly had hard knocks. The family has undergone other difficulties as well. But sometimes, even though we can't see it at the time, good can come from bad circumstances. Gabe, through her willingness to be vulnerable, and through her courage at facing people who once taunted her, has touched thousands of lives. Cards and letters pour in from kids, wounded in spirit like she was, who can relate to her. Kids who have found hope in her struggle against her illness. Kids who have realilzed that their harsh words can do a lifetime of damage to others.

Would Gabe chose this same path to live over again if she had the choice? Probably not. Would any of us? Wouldn't we all like to walk a less rocky path, with less fear and uncertainty? But sometimes, I think, if we can let go of the fear of today, we may see the bigger picture of tomorrow. And maybe, our journey will be so much more fulflling when we get to the final destination, then if we had taken the road smoothly worn.

Gabe's memoir "Still Dancing" will be released in about a year. Until then, she and Izzy will continue to touch lives. She has certainly touched mine.

Now we see but a poor relection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. - 1 Corinthians 13:12.

Copyright 2008 by Pamela Gossiaux
To read more, visit Pam at www.fruitsaladthebook.com
For more information on Gabe and Izzy visit www.gabeandizzy.com