Two of my closest friends are people that I have never set eyes on. It is our unfortunate circumstances that threw us together in this world. Circumstances I think we would all agree that we would give up everyone we know or everything we have to reverse. They too have lost a child, Ellie. Recently Ellie’s Mom sent me a beautiful e- mail about her daughter that explained what happened to her. She was a wonderfully vibrant and loving little girl with a kind spirit and open heart that reminds me so of J.T. Her e-mail follows:




Heidi,
Ellie was a beautiful 10-yr old blonde-haired blue eyed girl who absolutely loved
life. Ellie had many passions, she loved tennis, horseback riding, dancing,
dirt biking, hiking, reading the Bible to older folks, playing with her girlfriends,
Cousins, brothers and of course, playing with her baby sister. Ellie reached out
and grabbed life and always "figured out a way” to make happen what she wanted to
make happen. We miss her vibrance and zest for living very much On October 27,
2007 Ellie was at a friend's house and went for a ride on a Yamaha, Rhino. Ellie
was the passenger and was buckled in. The Rhino was being driven at a normal speed
on a completely flat field. The driver went to make a turn when for no reason the
Rhino tipped on Ellie and pinned her to the ground crushing her. She was air-cared
to the hospital where we were told she would not survive. In memory of Ellie's kind
and loving way we chose to donate her organs to other children who needed her help!

It is our belief that this vehicle is poorly designed and should never have tipped
over. It is narrow, too high off the ground, and top heavy and the seat belts do
not hold a child in. The seat belts hold you from going forward not going side ways.
This tragedy should have never happened to our family. What was once a happy
family of seven (7) is now a downtrodden family of (6).
www.yamaha-rhino-information.com