12 Year Old Ansleigh Adkins Finds Passion, Purpose and a Whole Lot of Heart in Wake of Critical Illness.

People with passion, purpose and heart can be found everywhere and at any age. In Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi, I write about how many individuals find passion and purpose through a tragic event in their lives. Take the inspiring story of 12 year old, Ashleigh Adkins as an example.

Ansleigh has been through a lot in her short life. AOL’s Everyday Life reports that Ansleigh suffered from an inherited condition called FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis) which meant she had a 100% chance of getting colon cancer. Thus, her only option was to have her colon removed.

When she was in the hospital for the colon removal surgery, Ashleigh brought her teddy bear along for comfort. In spite of the serious nature of her condition and a difficult surgery, Ansleigh was not thinking of herself and what she was going through, instead she asked her mother if she could raise money to give other children at the hospital teddy bears and she did just that.

Ansleigh raised more than $2,000, enough to buy and distribute 70 bears to children at the Cleveland Clinic where she was also being treated. The Build-a-Bear Foundation saw a story on Ansleigh and sent her another 100 teddy bears, which Ansleigh recently distributed. Watch a video on Ansleigh below:

“Children in a hospital can be bored or scared. Getting a stuffed animal makes them feel more normal and comfortable in an unfamiliar place.” “It just really brightens their day,” said Andrea Rapport, a child life specialist at Cleveland Clinic. (Source: AOL’s Everyday Life.)

Ansleigh’s experience at the hospital has inspired her to have a career goal of helping children in hospitals.

Ansleigh Adkins is a remarkable young woman. Today Ansleigh is healthy and happy, wise beyond her years and filled with passion, purpose and heart!

For more on passion, purpose and heart, see Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi.

Be Great!

MB