Exit
what was going on,” recalls Ford.
“What I did, ignoring it, thinking it was going to go away was
wrong—it doesn’t. You can’t
ignore it.
Things began to look up for
Gabe when, just four days before
her 20th birthday, she met her
best friend—a long eared coonhound named Izzy.
“I started coming out of my
room. My time was being occupied by this puppy and I was
taking care of her and was also
taking care of myself. Now I had
somebody to be with me by my
side,” she says.
Coincidentally enough, Izzy
(short for Izabel) also suffered
from a rare muscle disease, and
the two remained inseparable.
Izzy passed away three years ago,
but not after spending almost
eight years traveling with Ford
on her speaking tour and meeting
children at assemblies.
‘VOICE FOR THE BULLIED’
Ford travels to about 25 t