Gabrielle Ford – The Voice for America’s Bullied

Gabrielle Ford’s incredible journey of triumph over tragedy is filled with amazing coincidences. Gabrielle (Gabe) and her dog, Izabel (Izzy), both had rare muscle diseases that caused them to lean on each other for support. Izzy’s unique muscle disease ironically mirrored many of Gabe’s symptoms, which in turn helped Gabe come to terms with her own disease. 

Read below Gabe’s dedication to her mom from their youth book, ‘Gabe & Izzy – Standing Up For America’s Bullied’.

I dedicate my book to my mom, who never gave up on me! She taught me the importance of forgiving others so that I wouldn’t hold on to hurt, anger, and bitterness or remain an unhappy person.

My mom, Izzy, and I spent many years traveling across the country, in and out of airports. She drove Izzy and me long distances through snowstorms, icy road conditions, rain, wind, and winding mountain road, to ensure that we would be able to share our anti-bullying message.

When traveling by plane, mom would pull Izzy in her wagon with one hand and pushed me in my wheelchair with the other. She would have to disassemble my wheelchair and Izzy’s wagon every time we got on a plane, and reassemble them when we got on. After all that, she was still responsible for getting us from the airport to our destination!

I’m not sure how she did it all, but she did. She says bullying hurts not only the person being bullied but the family, too. She is passionate about bullying; she does not want anyone to feel its wrath, because she, too, experienced bullying first and as a young girl.

Mom helped Izzy and me make our voices heard in a world of bullied students. No longer do students need to suffer in silence. I heard their cry and I heard their voice!