Partners in Service Part 2

A Life of Impact

I was able to speak with Lisa, a close friend of Cindy’s who traveled with her. “Cindy's smile would light up a room,” was the first thing she mentioned. She loved her family more than anything else and was devoted to the business she and her husband Dave built. She adored her granddaughter and enjoyed being a part of her life immensely. “Cindy was highly creative and could fix anything and was instrumental in helping me learn how to adapt seating systems using regular materials and taught me about challenging stereotypes about children with disabilities particularly children with a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. She was industrious and I really appreciated learning about running a Physical Therapy practice and her managerial style and what she has learned as a business owner through the years. Her organizational skills kept everyone on task, and she was extremely pragmatic. She was incredibly smart but was extremely humble. She was generous and was a true believer in teamwork,” says Lisa.

Empathy Through Cross-Cultural Missions

Cindy and Lisa would go on wheelchair missions in China. Their friend Eunice put together a team of people and eventually, they all bonded and became close friends. Lisa says, “It is in my DNA to travel and to learn as much about this world as possible through collaboration with other cultures. I learned early on that I felt most content in life when I was in service with others. I think we both also believed that peace on this planet would come from learning about each other and from building empathy through cross-cultural exchange. Cindy lived a life of service to others both at home and on these trips.” They enjoyed learning from each other and from the people they met along the way. This mission was to build empathy, compassion, and understanding between cultures and to let the Tibetan people know that the world sees them, and they are not alone. The team learned the ways that others view Mother Earth, healing, spiritual practice, and what it means to live in a community. They integrated this knowledge into life and found ways to look at how to create a world that works for all people. Lisa also says, “It also helped me grow as a PT professionally by pushing me to think outside the box, embrace different ways of looking at health and healing, and personally improve my ability to communicate within a team and across cultures.”

Cherished Memories of Travel

There were still some physical and emotional challenges on these trips, but Cindy remained fun and playful. She worked hard and then made sure they laughed and played as well. They spent countless hours on discussions about life, work, family, their own successes, and missteps. During their travels, they shared many memories, “Traveling to South Africa for a conference and her playing the drums and laughing hysterically. Hiking to the top of Table Mountain and just seeing her smile and on Safari together in Zimbabwe when we got to see the lion,” was just one of Lisa’s favorites. “Most of all, I carry her laugh in my heart. I see her smile and I hear her laugh and I know she is with me when I see the hummingbird.”

If you would like to donate to the Cindy Miles Adaptive Fund, head to our donate page.

Resources

https://www.cindymilesfund.org/

https://www.kit.org/inclusion-in-playgrounds/