How could anyone forget the story of Safyre Terry, a little girl who was badly burned in a house fire that killed her entire family. The brave 8-year-old has been through dozens of surgeries, and even lost her hand and foot due to her extensive injuries. But that doesn’t stop her from loving some of the same things other kids her age do; namely, receiving Christmas cards this time of year!
In fact, that is all Safyre wanted for the holidays. When her aunt, Liz Dolder, who now has custody of Safyre, put out a Christmas tree card holder, the little girl was disappointed to learn the family typically only gets about 10 cards. So Dolder appealed to social media for more holiday greetings to make her niece happy. And boy, did the public respond!
After her story went viral, cards have poured in from all over the world! “We are so forever grateful for everyone’s [sic] generosity. YOU ALL have just been so incredibly amazing,” read an update to the little girl’s Facebook fan page late last week, which was posted with a photo of Safyre standing in front of bins upon bins of mail.
The family has even had to ask volunteers to help them sort through the piles of greetings arriving daily for Safyre. Photos of the child receiving gifts and mail from as far away as Hong Kong, and from police forces and little kids alike fill the Facebook page.
Dolder summed up her feelings about the enormity of the response in another post, saying, “I really think I am dehydrated from crying so much. This is absolutely amazing, it takes my breath away. We—my family and I have been through so much darkness of this world—then to see the most powerful beauty of the world. The world coming together to make Safyre’s wish come true is unfathomable.”
Merry Christmas, Safyre!
Melissa Willets is a writer/blogger and a mom. Follow her on Twitter (@Spitupnsuburbs), where she chronicles her love of exercising and drinking coffee, but never simultaneously.
