Golden Halo Foundation, which helps children in the region with long-term disabilities and their families, started 15 years ago after Michelle and Derek Weimer’s daughter, Mikayla, passed away just shy of her 3rd birthday after battling a rare condition called Holoprosencephaly
JEFF FIELDER Editor
SIDNEY – In December 2003, four months before her two-and-a-half-year-old precious daughter passed away, Michelle Weimer received a wonderful and memorable Christmas gift from her husband, Derek, and his sister, Krisanne Weimer.
It was paperwork that had been completed in order for Michelle to start the Golden Halo Foundation, which was intended to help children in the region suffering from long-term disabilities. Michelle wanted to start this foundation as a way for her and Derek’s daughter, Mikayla, to always be remembered after she passed away. At the time Michelle received this Christmas gift, the Weimers knew their daughter would be passing away due to battling a rare condition called Holoprosencephaly, a genetic disorder in which the brain fails to develop into two hemispheres.
Mikayla, who was born on May 31, 2001, passed away on April 29, 2004.
“The Christmas before she passed away, we knew we weren’t going to have a long time with her, but we wanted to enjoy the time we did get to spend with her, and we wanted her life to mean something even after she passed away,” Michelle said. “Because Mikayla had a genetic disorder, we couldn’t do organ donation or some of those things to make her life have a lasting effect in the world. So, the Christmas before she passed away, my husband and his sister put together the paperwork for a foundation that we could start in her name. It was a Christmas gift to me, but it’s something that all of us wanted for Mikayla.”
The full story will appear in the April issue of Nspire Today! magazine. A one-year subscription (12 issues) is only $15. You may sign up for a subscription by sending $15 to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363, or you may pay with a credit card by calling 308-220-8865. If you would like to increase your subscription to $20, Nspire Today! will donate the extra $5 to the Golden Halo Foundation.
Stories like the one on the Golden Halo Foundation are possible thanks to Nspire Today!’s business partners, including the Gering Bakery, which is located at 1446 10th St. in Gering. Their phone number is 308-436-5500.
