Avery is a vibrant and vivacious 8-year-old. She's funny and smart, silly but serious, and sensitive with a steely core. Every Walk-n-Roll, as I create our Angels for Avery fundraising page, I reflect on Avery's journey and the person she is, but also, what this organization, the Spina Bifida Association of Kentucky, means to our family. SBAK has a mission to build a better and brighter future for all those impacted by Spina Bifida. I have learned that spina bifida affects our whole family in different ways. Avery was the one born with Spina Bifida, but as a parent, I've gone through all the stages of blame and grief, and sometimes those emotions aren't ones to process and move past, but they linger and jump back out at me to be dealt with again and again. Avery's first pressure sore from her braces or a recurrent UTI...these common things that just happen for kids with spina bifida but that my "mom heart" feels personally responsible for. I love that the Spina Bifida Association of Kentucky has created a community for our entire family. Spina Bifida affects every person differently and much of her disability is "hidden". Looking at her, one would never assume she's already had 8 surgeries. Recurrent brain surgeries have impacted her executive functioning skills but SBAK has given me the language and the tools to advocate for her and to support her. Her laugh is contagious, her smile is infectious, and her personality is one of a kind. She is not the kid I was expecting the first time I saw those two pink lines, but I wouldn't trade her for anything! (Most days...) When you make a donation to our WNR team, Angels for Avery, you are supporting things like SB Family Camp (Olivia, Avery, & Emery's favorite weekend ever), Food for families in the hospital (we've been there hundreds of times ourselves), Adaptive equipment & therapies for kids, social gatherings (sometimes special needs parenting can be a lonely journey but you don't have to be alone) and SO MUCH MORE!