At first glance, you might not peg sweet Diane as a NASCAR fan, but once you have a chance to talk with her, you’ll soon learn that watching the races on tv is one of this former farmgirl’s favorite pastimes. Diane lives at Ridgewood Rehabilitation and Care Center in Seward, Nebraska, and during the height of the pandemic, Lori, Ridgewood’s Life Enrichment Coordinator, nominated Diane to receive a Dream through Dreamweaver Foundation because she knew that Diane was craving some excitement.
As we got to know Diane it became clear that she was a very private and independent lady who has a heart for animals, a
taste for whiskey, and a Dream to attend a live NASCAR event. Diane needed something to look forward to! We looked ahead on the calendar and set our sights on getting her to an October NASCAR Race in Kansas City, and we crossed our fingers that the Covid numbers would improve so that the Dream would be a safe event for Diane to attend.
Unfortunately, the surge of the Delta variant interfered with our original plan. Diane took the news of her cancelled trip in stride saying, “Maybe next year.”, but we could tell that deep down she was very disappointed.
Since we were no longer able to bring Diane to NASCAR, we knew that it was time to think outside of the box and reach out to find a way to bring NASCAR to her. We quickly discovered how generous and charitable the NASCAR community is, and we went out on a limb to write to Diane’s favorite NASCAR driver, Kyle Busch, to see if he could help us with Diane’s Dream. To our delight, Kyle responded very quickly to our message! Although Kyle was not able to fit a trip to Seward into his busy schedule, he sent over an autographed cap, necklace, and other NASCAR memorabilia for Diane!
Lori helped us coordinate the surprise delivery. Diane was shocked and honored that her favorite driver took time away from his busy schedule just for her! Her smile lit up the room as she unwrapped the special gifts that Kyle gave her. Dreamweaver gave Diane a few NASCAR DVDs so that she could watch her favorite races whenever she was feeling the need for speed. Soft-spoken and reserved Diane has been telling all her friends about the gifts that Kyle has given her and what it all means to her.
Dreamweaver Foundation would like to thank Lori and Ridgewood Rehabilitation and Care Center for introducing us to Diane and for their help and flexibility with planning the perfect Dream for her. We also want to thank Kyle Busch and staff at the Kyle Busch Foundation for their speedy response to our request, and for their help with giving the gift of hope to Diane.
