Be a Unicorn or a Craig

Effie Parks, the amazing woman behind the Once Upon A Gene podcast, recorded a special Thanksgiving episode: Turkey Soup for the Soul. This year’s episode was focused on people who went above and beyond to help a family caring for a child with a rare genetic disorder. While Emily is not diagnosed, yet, I submitted a story about a family that supported us in a big and life-changing way when Emily and Justin were small.

In this episode, Effie and her co-hosts refer to these special people as unicorns. I am blessed to have encountered many unicorns in my life. Emily’s disabilities have opened our world to many angels, unicorns, and helpers. The story I submitted is just one of many. Below is the story I shared about the Feldhacker family:

There is a Walker Hayes song called “Craig”. I cannot listen to that song without crying. The song is the epitome of going above and beyond to help out a family in need. The Short family was blessed by a “Craig” in the early years of our journey.

By the time Emily turned 3, our world was upside down. I had quit my job to care for Justin and Emily full-time. With all the doctor visits and therapy, it was not feasible for me to maintain a job. Todd was struggling to run our family plumbing business. He had begun to battle anxiety and depression and we were dealing with a child that had developmental delays. We ended up filing bankruptcy for our business. It was a difficult season, to put it mildly.

Fortunately, Todd is a great plumber. He was able to find a job quickly. It was a Monday through Friday gig and the pay was great. The only issue is that he had to use his own vehicle. We were a one-car family at this point. This would leave me home with two toddlers without transportation. I had no idea how I was going to get Emily to her appointments. I was also scared to be without transportation in case of an emergency, but I told Todd we would figure it out. We needed money to pay the mortgage and put food on the table.

The Sunday before Todd started his new job, our friends stopped by after church. Anna was in one car with her two toddlers. Her husband followed behind in an old, Honda Accord. They got out of the car and told us they had a car for us. We told them we could not accept a car. Ken said, “We aren’t giving you a car! We are selling you this Honda Accord for $1. There was a time we needed a car and a friend sold this one to us for a buck. The only catch is once you are done with it, you must do the same.”

I was speechless (which is rare for me). After some convincing by Ken, we accepted the car. We signed the transfer and paid him $1. That car was not pretty on the outside, but she got the job done. She never let us down. She carried us safely from one appointment to the next for the next two years.

One day Todd came home from work and said, “Billie, there is a guy at work and his mom really needs a car.” Well, we just happen to have one available for the low price of $1.