May 2009

“If I can make a difference in the life of a child even for just a day, my life was worth living.”

Mark Reid has a special spot in his heart for sick children and it was evident during his recent trip to St. Louis to teach a class. When Mark found out about an eight-year-old girl who was recently diagnosed with a rare, incurable illness he knew he had to paint her. Emily Hrbacek is a blond haired, blue-eyed girl who may look like many of her peers. The difference is that she was recently diagnosed with a rare illness called Niemann-Pick Type C, which in essence is the equivalent to Lou Gehrig’s, Alzheimer’s, and Cerebral Palsy that attacks during childhood years. This disease robs children of their childhood by slowly attacking short term memory, co-ordination, speech, ability to swallow and ability to walk and eat.

Mark spent a few hours on 12 May transforming Emily’s love of the red, white and blue into a face that represents the courage and strength she and her family have shown in dealing with this incurable illness. The smile that Emily beamed when looking at herself in the mirror is all Mark needed to know that he had created a special memory that would last a lifetime.

For more information on Emily please check out www.caringbridge.org/visit/emilyhrbacek