After Kionna, her husband and their 8-year-old daughter finished their meal at an Olive Garden in Oklahoma City, they found a note left on their car. A cruel note was left on their car by a complete stranger who had no idea what this family has gone through.
The note read: “Disabled? No. Just your big fat a**es”
What the author of the note didn’t know was that Dusty has a medical condition which she has struggled with throughout her life. The stranger accused the family of inappropriately using a disabled parking spot and insulted the family on their physical appearances.
Kionna and Dusty, her husband, tried to take the note before their daughter could read it, but it was too late. The little 8-year-old saw and then asked her parents why a complete stranger would leave such a cruel note.
In a Facebook post, the mother writes:
“To the person/persons that left this note on my car at the Olive Garden on Memorial in OKC today, I’d like to say thank you! Your misguided and uninformed attempt to shame me and my family provided an opportunity to teach my 8 year old daughter a lesson. Upon seeing this note, she said “Mom, why would someone do that? They don’t even know us.” This coming from a little girl who’s daddy will never get to walk her down the aisle, because, he is in fact disabled.”
“So we explained to her that some people just have hate in their hearts. We further explained how your actions can deeply affect others around you, and how she should always be conscious of others feelings. I explained that she was right. These people didn’t know us. They didn’t know that my husband has Muscular Dystrophy and has struggled with it his entire life. They didn’t know that even though his doctors advised him to go into a wheelchair years ago, he refused, and instead, remained on his own two feet until he finally fell for the last time, blowing out both knees and breaking an ankle. They didn’t understand that we’ve spent the last 2 years learning to adjust to a life in which he can’t even stand up to get in and out of a car. They didn’t see that I’ve torn my rotator cuff lifting on him to assist him in his transitions. They have no idea that he already lives in constant pain, and that their hurtful words would only add to that. They didn’t know that the reason that he has a belly is because there are no stomach muscles left to hold everything in tight. They didn’t know that our 8 year old already struggles to understand why her daddy can’t run and play with her the way other daddies do. They just didn’t know. And because they didn’t know, they allowed the hate in their hearts to get the better of them.”
“So again, I’d just like to say Thank You. Your ignorance provided a wonderful opportunity for me and my husband, who have struggled and survived and come out stronger in the last couple of years, to not only teach our daughter a valuable lesson, but provided another opportunity for us to overcome and to be thankful for the blessings that continue to come our way!”
This mother changed a hateful incident into a lesson about compassion. She not only taught her daughter to be more aware of her actions, but to also be more mindful to others.
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