Life is unpredictable and often unfair but sometimes the unpredictable leads to the amazing. This story about a young girl and her fight against an incredibly rare disease, and her new best friend, is proof that even when life hits rock bottom there’s sometime an unexpected friend to lift a person back up.
Around the age of four, Lindsay Ratcliffe was diagnosed with progeria — a rare genetic disorder that causes children to age rapidly.
Progeria ages humans 8-10 times faster than normal. The average lifespan of a person suffering with progeria is usually about 13 years. Lindsay is now 12 years old.
David Douglas was given the nickname “The Beast” and it fits based on his size and what he can do in the gym. At six feet tall and 330 pounds, the 29-year-old is a professional powerlifter and motivational speaker. A former Marine, Douglas is a three-time Camp Pendleton athlete of the year and can squat over 900 pounds, bench 600, and deadlift 770.
So how did these two cross paths and become best friends? Douglas explained to the website Aplus…
He met Lindsay, who he calls his “little sis,” at Relentless, a powerlifting event sponsored by HopeKids to benefit children with rare diseases.
“Back in early 2013, I was going into my 7th year in the Marine Corps, stationed out in California. I was going through so adversities in my personal life. I remember being down on my luck. Shortly after, I was contacted by another Marine Corps veteran and police officer, Tommy Westhoff, who happened to be the promoter for Relentless Detroit at the time. He asked me if I had heard anything about Relentless before and began telling me all about it. Then he blessed me with the opportunity with the chance to be a lifter at the upcoming event in November of that year in Detroit. I couldn’t have said yes faster. I felt like that would give me a purpose and not just going out and lifting weights. He made it a point to (tell) me that it’s not about how much you can lift at these meets, it’s about making the kids feel like superstars. It’s their day. I was all about that. Months leading up to this event i was fundraising and Tommy contacted me again and told me that a family and their little girl who they were sponsoring that year wanted to meet me. I couldn’t stop smiling and told him to let them know I can’t wait to meet them.”
The day The Beast met little Lindsay, his life changed.
“Lindsay became my lil sis since day one,” Douglas writes. “I knew she meant something to me, but after everything that has happened, there is no words to describe how I feel about her. She has pulled me out of rough spots just by thinking of her. That is a priceless gift. That is why I made it my duty to help her out in any way that I can. We tried hard to get her on the Ellen show so that we could spread her story of this rare condition to the world, but fell short, but still truly hoping to get on there. One of Lindsay’s favorite shows.”
The story of Douglas and Ratcliffe’s after a photoshopped photo of the pair popped up online.
Douglas explained in an email to the website exactly what was photoshopped.
“I got a picture from a friend that took a picture of us and i felt very strongly about it so i wanted to get the point across on how i felt about it and her. People looked at me as strong when everything about her was stronger. Instead of putting those words off to the side, i decided to put it right on me to make the point even louder. You have to look at the big picture of it.”
The pair continue to stay in touch.
“You would never know that she was fighting something so hard,” Douglas wrote, “because she is always smiling or giving some type of sarcastic answer to make you laugh.”
[via Aplus]