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Friday, Aug. 29, 2008

Dream Come True

Local man grants wish of girl born with physical challenges

By Brett Dalton, The Journal Staff

Editor’s Note: The following is the first of a two-part series. See Friday’s Journal for the conclusion.

Clo Overcast didn’t want to bother the nice man, but her son just had to check out that truck.

It was earlier this summer at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. Lee’s Summit’s Rick Riddle was displaying his “Eagle Outlaw” uber-patriotic Ford truck at a car and truck show. Virgil Bonner, his sister Cali Overcast and their mother, Clo Overcast, were walking through the displays when Bonner laid eyes on Riddle’s ride.

“He said, ‘This truck has been in everything,’” said Clo Overcast. “He wanted to go talk to Rick and see what that truck was all about.”

Riddle was accommodating, as he always is with those who want to see his prized possession. He autographed photos and magazines in which he had been featured. He even offered to let 11-year-old Cali get up in the truck for a Kodak moment.

“That’s when she showed me her leg and told me that it might be a little hard to get up in the truck,” Riddle said.

Cali’s condition

What Cali showed Riddle wasn’t exactly her leg, but rather a brace serving as her left leg. Born with Ollier’s Disease, Cali’s left leg did not grow properly. By the time she was 4, her left leg was five inches shorter than her right leg. She never crawled and was outfitted with a lift shoe and brace when she started to walk. But having one leg shorter than the other would prove to be just the beginning of her hellish childhood.

Also at the age of 4, Cali contracted Bacteria Spinal Meningitis, a serious infection of the fluid surrounding the spinal cord and the brain. As doctors continued to try to lengthen her left leg, she also contracted Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that causes hard-to-treat infections in humans.

And if that wasn’t enough, the bones in her left leg never healed. Doctors had no choice but to amputate. And on Sept. 20, 2006, after 14 surgeries and four antibiotic treatments strong enough to damage hearing and vision, that’s exactly what doctors did.

Up until the amputation, Cali’s life was spent in and out of hospitals. From April 2005 to May 2006, her deformed left leg was in a spatial frame, but the leg broke immediately after the frame was removed. She contracted other infections on top of MRSA and lost 15 pounds due to infection. She was forced to be home-schooled during her fourth-grade year.

The severe, chronic pain and fatigue forced her into a wheelchair.

“She would only sleep for about two hours at a time,” Clo said. “The pain was just so bad and it took its toll.”

And although Cali is doing better these days, her medical treatments are probably far from over. Clo said her daughter will more than likely face further amputations down the road, as her left knee is not strong and her femur still has not grown. Clo said Cali’s hip also is “a little shallow” which would prevent the possibility of a full prosthetic leg.

But despite all she was been through already in just 11 years, Cali Overcast is about as high-spirited as they come.

“I know how hard it can be sometimes to wake up and get out of bed every morning,” Cali said. “But you know what? This is me, and I just keep pushing on through it. All you have to do is keep smiling and things can always get better.”

Her consistently positive attitude stuns her mother, as Clo said she doesn’t know if she’d be able to have the same bright outlook.

“The pride I feel when I look at her – I just can’t explain it,” she said. “She humbles me.”


She loves the troops

The plastic limb serving as Cali’s left leg is decked out in artwork featuring two distinct characters: Marines and Guardian Angels. And to Cali, they’re one and the same.

“I believe we all need guardian angels,” she said. “Marines need guardian angels to protect them. And the Marines are our guardian angels because they protect us.”

Cali loves the men and women of the U.S. military, a devotion that escalated when her brother Virgil joined the Marines. He is currently stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

She said she can relate to members of the armed forces, especially the wounded soldiers who have lost an arm or a leg. She often visits hospitals to visit wounded soldiers. It’s her way of saying, “I’m here for you.” She’s their guardian angel.

“I know how much it hurts and what they’re going through, because I’ve been there,” Cali said.

Of all the troops she’s met and spoke with, the one who she felt a deep connection with was one she saw on television. Cali was watching earlier this year when Olathe, Kan., resident and wounded Marine Daniel Gilyeat received a new home as part of the hit show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition”

Like Cali, Gilyeat is without one leg, although his loss came while fighting in Iraq. Ever since the show aired, Cali has wanted to meet Gilyeat.

“I saw him on television and he made me cry,” Cali said. “He lost a limb and was saving someone’s life doing that.”

Cali and Clo had tried to find contact information for Gilyeat on the show’s Web site, but had no luck. Cali wasn’t sure if her dream would come true.

Enter Rick Riddle

While they were talking at the car show at Bandimere Speedway, Cali mentioned to Riddle how much she loves the troops and how she’s always wanted to meet Gilyeat.

“When she said that, my eyes kind of opened wide,” Riddle said. “She didn’t know I was good friends with Daniel. So I told her, ‘Well, let’s call him up.’ Then her eyes got real big.”

Cali had trouble believing it, but with a punch of a few buttons on a cell phone, Daniel Gilyeat was on the phone waiting to talk to Cali.

“All I could think was, ‘Wow,’” Cali said. “I was very astonished I was getting to talk to him. I introduced myself and told him I thought he was a guardian angel.”

After talking to her on the phone, Gilyeat said he was “very impressed” with her passion for the troops and her personal perseverance through her medical conditions.

“It meant the world to me that she supported the troops so much and how she wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer in anything in life,” Gilyeat said. “I was extremely impressed with her drive and dedication.”

But Riddle wasn’t done. Amazed by the connection between Cali and Gilyeat, he vowed that he would find a way for the two to meet in person. And as he’s known to do, he made good on his promise.

Early last week, Riddle sent Clo and Cali Overcast an undisclosed amount of money to fund their drive from Fountain, Colo., to Kansas City. They will be in the area in mid-September and will assist in the annual Bikers for Babies program, which raises money for the March of Dimes, a charitable organization that aims to improve the health of newborns.

Cali said she’s excited to be part of such a noble cause, as she knows how hard it can be for children with birth abnormalities.“I’m excited to help out for a group dealing with birth defects,” she said, “because I have birth defects. I know how hard you life can be when things don’t go right.”

But her excitement is equaled by her desire to meet Daniel Gilyeat. “I’m probably going to run up to him and say, ‘It’s very nice to meet you and you are very brave for what you’ve done for your country,” Cali said. Gilyeat shares her excitement.

“I absolutely can’t wait to meet her,” he said. “With all she’s done and all she stands for, it will be an honor to get to know her.”

[url=http://www.lsjournal.com/100/story/16294.html ][/url]

Friday, Aug. 29, 2008

Colorado youth to be part of local fundraiser

Funds raised at Bikers for Babies event to be delivered in patriotic truck

By Brett Dalton, The Journal Staff

Editor’s Note: The following is the conclusion of a two-part series. See Wed., Aug. 27 Journal’s for part one.


On the morning of Sunday, Sept. 14, Cali Overcast’s dream of meeting wounded Marine Daniel Gilyeat will culminate with an experience she said she’ll never forget.

Sure, she’ll probably meet Gilyeat a couple days before, but that Sunday morning is the main event. Beginning at 8 a.m. Overcast will take a 100-mile ride on the back of a motorcycle, driven by Gilyeat, as part of the annual Bikers for Babies event.

“That is going to be a very exciting day,” said Cali, who will visit the Kansas City area in mid-September with her mother, Clo Overcast. The family resides in Fountain, Colo.

The Bikers for Babies event is one of the largest annual fundraisers for the March of Dimes, a charitable organization that aims at improving the health of newborn babies. According to Ed Hale, a Grandview resident and the event’s top fundraiser, more than 7,000 bikers take part in the ride, which raised more than $700,000 last year.

Hale, who has been participating for around six years, is the leader of a fundraiser group he calls “Ed’s Posse.” Approximately 100 members strong, the posse spends many evenings and weekends throughout the year raising money for the March of Dimes. They raise money by standing outside of popular stores such as Wal-Mart and Hy-Vee, as well as standing near intersections and collecting money from passing motorists. Last year, Ed’s Posse raised more than $70,000. Hale said this year’s goal is $100,000.

All the money raised by Ed’s Posse will be delivered to the March of Dimes on Sept. 14 in the back of Rick Riddle’s “Eagle Outlaw” patriotic Ford truck. Riddle, of Lee’s Summit, also will be part of the Bikers for Babies ride and may possibly lead the bikers out from Kansas Speedway, where the ride begins.

Riddle has helped Hale with fundraising and said the Bikers for Babies event is a noble event.

“It’s not a hand out, but rather a hand up for young children,” he said. “It’s a great cause to be a part of.” Riddle was instrumental in raising funds to bring Clo and 11-year-old Cali Overcast to the area to be a part of the event. Cali suffers from Ollier’s Disease and has lost her left leg to necessary amputation after she contracted multiple infections.

“When I heard her story and what she went through from a very early age, I thought it would be perfect for her come down and be a part of this event,” Riddle said. “So we did what we needed to do to get her down here and it’s pretty exciting to know she’ll be with us that day.”

Cali said she wants to help raise money so other children don’t have to go through what she has. “I think it’s very important to help these bikers raise money for children,” Cali said. “I’m proud that I’ll get to be a part of this and help out.”

Hale said the Bikers for Babies event continues to grow because so many people understand how essential the March of Dimes is for young babies.

“We all know this is a great because it goes for such a worthy cause,” he said. “This is probably the most worthy cause in my book. Babies who are born premature haven’t done a thing to anybody and they don’t deserve the trouble that could possibly come with being born too early.”

He also said the Bikers for Babies ride in Kansas City is the largest of similar events nationwide. “They call this part of the country the heartland of America,” he said. “Well this is the heart of the heartland right here in Kansas City.”

For detailed information about this year’s Bikers for Babies event, including a schedule, how to register and how to donate, visit www.marchofdimeskc.com.

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