Brea – 
Fishing for Dreams was proud to donate a jogging stroller to Brea and her family. To learn more about Brea, you can read all about her in a new book written by her mom. It is available on Amazon (and other places). Brea’s mom, Chelle, is donating some of the proceeds of the book to Fishing for Dreams – to help make other kids’ dreams possible. Thank you Chelle! 

 

 

 Loving and Losing Brea: Our Family’s Journey


 

2010-playground

Rocky – Dream Child 2010
February 2011 note from the Heaton Family: “Hello from the Heaton family. We wanted to follow up and let you know the children really are enjoying the swing set with all the accessories on it. They love to swing , slide down the slide with assistance, climb the ‘rock wall’, Sit in the shade of the tower , use the periscope and pretend to be in an imaginary place. Thank you ! Fishing for Dreams !!! all the helpers, anglers, staff, volunteers and sponsors for bringing happiness to our backyard! We don’t have to travel very far !
The boys wanted me to remind you that they really enjoyed watching the fish being weighed, WOW the size of those fish were amazing ! They also enjoyed checking out the boats and fishing poles used to catch the fish. We all sincerely appreciate all you did for our family and the children. Including the gift certificates, little extra goodies and the love and hugs God Bless you from Debbie and Dean Heaton , daughter Rocky and all her brothers and sisters.”

Kourtney – Dream Child 2009
In Loving of Kourtney who passed away in December 2010

April 2010 note from Kourtney’s mom:  “Please pass on to the anglers, the sponsors and the many volunteers how much we sincerely appreciate all that they did for our family in making so many wonderful things possible for us!  Just in case they are not sure of all of the great stuff that FFD made happen, I will try to recap…First we attended the Night of Champions in Jacksonville where we listened to 2 GATOR greats, Danny Weurrfel and Tim Tebow (along with their parents) talk about the importance of walking in Christian faith both on and off the field.  At the end of the event, Pastor Tebow gave an invitation to become a Christian and Jeremy came forward.  UNFORGETTABLE!  At the St. Augustine Boating Club pre-party, you guys showered us all with lots of gifts.  Kourtney got oodles of gorgeous little dresses, earrings and lip balms and Jeremy got a fishing pole with his name on it.  We also got a ton of other stuff including gift cards, a gigantic fruit basket and a Wii which I must admit is my primary method of working out these days.  We LOVE our Wii!  Then of course, Jeremy got his first opportunity to fish on a boat.  And well, you know what happened from there, not only did he catch a fish but he caught a keeper and along with that came his name on the leader board and a cash prize.  And don’t forget the bragging rights and neverending fish tale to tell.  (KEVIN, YOU ROCK!)  We then got to go on a Disney Cruise from Cape Canaveral to the Bahamas which was an absolutely amazing adventure!  We snorkeled with stingrays, danced with pirates, spent a day playing at the waterpark in Atlantis and ate like royality the entire time!  AMAZING!  When we got back to the port, our next stop was the Kennedy Space Center where we got a behind the scenes tour, rode the NASA simulators, met a real life astronaut and visited the Hall of Frame.  It was a very patriotic and educational experience!  SO COOL!  Then both Jeremy and Kourtney had up-close and personal dolphin encounters at Marineland.  Kourtney did the dolphin design and Jeremy did the emersion where he got to actually swim with the dolphins.  I remember thinking while these were going on, I wish I could get some good pictures of this.  Then aferward Cheryl provided me with a CD that had ALL of the pictures on it that the professional event photographer had taken.  She said…”here ya go”.  Then on the way out, we stopped in the gift shop and they got Kourtney a beautiful musical waterglobe with dolphins swimming around in glitter in it!  UNBELIEVEABLE!  We were able to receive so many generous gifts, experience so many truly precious moments and capture many priceless photographs that we will cherish forever.  In addition, the painting that “Sunny” the dolphin painted with Kourtney will hang on the wall of our home forever as well as the amazing autographed picture of and personal letter written by Tim Tebow to Jeremy.  PRICELESS!  I’m still trying to finish scrapbooking everything!  You all allowed us to do so much and we are indeed forever grateful!  XOXO  Donna


Sean – Dream Child 2008
Sean’s dream to visit Give Kids The World was fulfilled this summer when he and his family traveled to the magical village for a fun-filled week.
Sean is a 9 yr old boy born with a rare metabolic disease called L-CHAD with tri-functional protein deficiency, which means he is missing the enzyme that allows the body to break down fats into sugar to supply the body with fuel, so his body breaks down muscle to get the fuel it needs to survive. Sean is such a happy, loving kid who would bring home every dog he sees and he loves to go on walks with his 3 dogs. He also loves swimming and playing with toy NASCAR racecars. Playing with video games would occupy most of his day if Mom and Dad didn’t make him go to school and do his homework. Sean is excited about summer vacation!


Alex – Dream Child 2007 
April 2010 note from Alex’s mom:  “Alex has been receiving infusions of four different mediations at UF Shands in Gainesville.  It seems that the oral medications aren’t really working so well for him at this time.  We will be doing some more tests in April to determine what the progression of his auto-immune disease is taking.  Alex is home schooled via the Florida Virtual School, at this time, as he has no immune system.  He finished 6th grade (and 7th grade math) in five months with straight A’s and is taking 4 extra credit classes over the spring and summer.  He does still retain his fabulous sense of humor, and we are trying to plan some local field trips when we have some free time.  We look forward to seeing everyone at FFD in a couple of weeks.  Michelle and Alex”


Shannon – 2007 In Loving Memory (March 20, 1993 – March 30, 2008)
Shannon was in an automobile accident, spending 2/3 of her life in the hospital.  Her dream was to have a ‘coming home from the hospital party’ where she could visit with all the doctors, nurses and volunteers who had become her dear friends.  Shannon did come home from the hospital and had her party on March 1st, and also celebrated her 15th birthday on March 20th.  Unfortunately, Shannon went into cardiac arrest and passed away on March 30th.  Her sister, Heather, writes, “My sweet angel is in Heaven looking down on all of us with her big brown eyes and loving smile”.  We will miss you.


Tiffany – 2005
Tiffany, 17, was diagnosed with childhood lung cancer at age 14.  We are happy to report she has been cancer free for two years and graduated from high school in June.  She recently attended her senior prom.  She has continually maintained a 3.9 grade point average, even while going through chemotherapy, and has received scholorships for college.  Good job, Tiff!


Jessica – 2004

Jessica_boy Jessica sustained severe head injuries when she was struck by a vehicle while waiting for her school bus.  She is the pretty gal who hands out trophies to FFD’s winning anglers.
April 2011 – Jessica’s mom writes:  Jessica is working at the Renaissance and raising Ian, now 21 months old.  Jess still loves hunting, fishing and the beach and is looking forward to fishing in this years tournament.

Tierney – 2004
Diagnosed with optic glicoma (cancer behind the eyes), Mom advises Tierney is ‘holding her own’.  The good news is chemotherapy, for now, has been suspended as the tumors have shrunk and are not growing back as rapidly as they have in the past.