EASTVALE, Calif. — Fire and police departments are dancing to raise surgery funds for a 2-year-old girl with cerebral palsy.
Finley Smallwood, 2, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after being born nine weeks premature. Her parents, Christina and Josh Smallwood, adopted Finley at birth when they learned pregnancy could be difficult and risky.
Although Finely uses a walker and attends physical therapy, the Smallwoods recently found out that she is a good candidate for selective dorsal rhizotomy. The life-changing procedure could potentially allow her to walk in the future.
The only problem is, the surgery costs about $60,000 and is not covered under the Smallwoods’ insurance.
Hence, the idea to raise funds through the “Dare to Dance” challenge was conceived
“She did this little blog and this dance video of her and Finley dancing to the Meghan Trainor song, and right then and there I went, ‘Oh my gosh, this could be Finley’s miracle,” family friend Brittany Rodriguez told ABC7.
In turn, several fire and police departments have already shown their support, including the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Covina Police Department. The LAFD “Dare to Dance” challenge has received over 20,000 views.
“This has been a week out of this video, and we’re already halfway to a goal, which I thought was a pretty lofty goal, I mean $60,000 is a lot of money,” Josh Smallwood said.