To you, it may seem like just a few words on a piece of paper, but to Victoria Boyd and her family, it means so much more.
“She opened them one at a time and just the smile on her face was worth a million dollars,” said Victoria’s mom, Holly Rugh.
Victoria was born with distal spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic condition that causes muscle weakness, loss of movement in the hands and feet as well as difficulty breathing.
Just two days after we met up with Victoria, she underwent her first of two major back-to-back surgeries.
The next time we see her, she’ll have a new device hooked up to the back of her chair.
“She will be connected to a ventilator that will assist in her breathing because the disease that she has, has progressed to the point where her muscles are just not strong enough to breathe like you or I would,” Rugh said.
Once Victoria’s lungs finally get strong enough, she’ll head to Philadelphia where she’ll undergo eight hours of spinal surgery.
“I'm just looking forward to breathing better,” Victoria said.
While the road to recovery may seem like a long one, Victoria’s family says if anyone can do it, it’s Victoria.
“She definitely teaches us all life lessons about how to live each day and to live it to the fullest,” said Heidi Boyd-Matic, Victoria’s aunt. “I just wanted to do something to show her how much she is loved.”
That’s where ‘Victoria’s Smile Box’ comes into play.
The family is asking people across Central PA to take a minute out of their day to send Victoria a couple words of encouragement.
They hope the letters will lift her spirits during her many weeks to come in the hospital.
“When you’re going through something like this and you’re sitting in your hospital room, you may be having a really down day or you might be having a lot of pain, something as simple as a card that says, 'hey, I’m thinking of you' can really put a smile on someone’s face,” Boyd-Matic said.
As Victoria continues along her journey, she says she's only asking for two simple things that money can’t buy.
"Just their love and support.”
The address to ‘Victoria’s Smile Box’ is P.O. Box 11 Dover, PA 17315.
You can also make a donation to #TeamVic by clicking here.
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