Turning G. Marie's into a first-class formal wear boutique was no easy
task. “We worked down to the dirt in some places and up to the sky
where the entire ceiling had fallen in in others,” said Ginger.
some limitation doesn't mean
you have to be limited from
living your life.”
When her daughter
Kennedy was born, she had
a condition called bladder
exstrophy. “Her bladder was
outside her body,” explained
Ginger. “She had her first major
surgery when she was one day
old.” In all, Kennedy has had
seventeen major surgeries, some
of which made it impossible for
her to stand for long periods of
time. “For one, her pelvis bone
was broken in four places. If
she got out of the hospital on
Wednesday, she wanted to be
at church Wednesday night.
That’s just Kennedy. So, we got
her a wheelchair so she could be
there. We never held her back
from anything she wanted to
do.”
Kennedy was nine years
old when Ginger learned of
an experimental procedure.
“Bladders were being grown
from a patient’s own cells. We
actually visited a doctor in
North Carolina who was doing
it.” There was only one problem.
“None of it was covered by
insurance,” said Ginger. “But
they put Kennedy’s name on the
list. When it came her turn, we
would have to pay for half of the
surgery upfront.”
Ginger’s church held a
big yard sale as a fundraising
event for Kennedy, and one of
the donations was five prom
dresses. Since prom season had
just passed, the dresses did
not sell that day. When it was
prom season again, Ginger put
the dresses on social media. “A
lady contacted me to buy one
of the dresses. When she came,
she bought one prom dress
and gave me five more that had
belonged to her daughter,” said
Ginger. The exchange was one
of many in the coming weeks
64 TOOMBS COUNTY MAGAZINE