| 12/1/2007 9:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| SHARING EXPERIENCES: Anti-bullying motivational speaker Gabrielle Ford, right, talks to sixth-grader Tasha Keller after an assembly at Madison Junior High School on Friday. Keller said it was good to hear someone that she could relate to. Both use wheelchairs. Ford, who has a neuromuscular disease, talked about her struggles with bullies while she was in school. She also shared how she has overcome her low self-esteem and depression. Keller said it was nice to see someone who had gone through the same kinds of things and came out of it all with a positive message. (Staff photo by Ken Ritchie) |
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A bullying victim's plea
Students must be more tolerant
Laura Halleman
Courier Staff Writer
Gabrielle "Gabe" Ford may have seemed soft spoken during an assembly of Madison Junior High students Friday, but her message was simple yet powerful; no bullying.
Ford, 26, of Fenton, Mich., knows all too well the toll bullying takes on a person. She travels the country with her beloved coonhound, Izzy, to share her story.
The assembly was made possible by the Madison Junior High School Peer Counseling Endowment Fund established in honor of MJHS counselor Dianna Risk who passed away Thursday of pancreatic cancer. The assembly was dedicated in her honor.
As an 8-year-old, Ford was living a normal childhood and was busy with school, dance classes and sports. At 12 she was diagnosed with Friedreich's Ataxia, a progressive neuromuscular disease for which there is no cure. She has been wheelchair bound since the age of 20.
The bullying began after her diagnosis, when the disease was making it increasingly difficult for her to walk and when she changed to another school district.
The bullying became a daily barrage of students calling her names, throwing small objects at her, spreading false rumors about her and physically harming her.
"They would come by and shove me or trip me," Ford said.
One day Ford came home from school with bruises on her legs. It was the first time her mother found out that she was being bullied.
"I wanted to handle my own problems and wanted her to think everything was OK and that I was liked," Ford said.
Although her mother met with the principal of the school and one student was reprimanded, the bullying continued.
"I endured this bullying behavior from eighth grade to the night I graduated," she said. "But it didn't end there. The after effects of bullying started to show after graduation."
With her disease progressing, the few friends Ford had stopped calling her and she became increasingly withdrawn and depressed to the point of wanting to give up, she said.
"I stopped leaving the house because I didn't want anyone to see me in a wheelchair. I thought if they were mean to me then they'll probably be more mean to me now," she said.
At her lowest point, Izzy, entered Ford's life. Because she had to care for Izzy, Ford slowly began to make more and more trips out of her home.
"It's Izzy that I give the credit to for getting me over my fears," she said.
In an odd coincidence, Izzy began to stumble and walk shakily soon after Ford brought her home. She, too, was diagnosed with a neuromuscular disease similar to Ford's. The veterinarian gave Izzy one year to live. She is now 8 and accompanies Ford as she educates students across the country on bullying.
Ford told students that although bullying may happen in school, the emotional scars can stay with a person the rest of their life.
"I forgave the kids who bullied me, but I can't forget," she said.
After a question and answer period between Ford and the students, her mother, Rhonda Hillman, spoke to the students.
"I'm going to talk from my heart today. I'm so very sorry about Dianna," an emotional Hillman said. "I hope all of your lives as you grow into adults that you take Dianna with you and remember, too, what Gabe is saying to you today."
Hillman said when kids made fun of her daughter it hurt much more than when her daughter was diagnosed.
"Do you know why that is? Because bullying is a choice, a disease is not. We have to become more tolerant of each other's differences. You have the choice. You can make your school bully free," Hillman said.
Ford added that usually when a tragic incident occurs in a school by a student it is more likely than not that the student has been bullied. She asked each student to treat each person the way they would want to be treated.
After the assembly, students waited their turn to talk to Ford and pet Izzy. Sixth grade student Tasha Keller told Ford it was nice to hear someone else going through a similar situation to hers. Keller is also in a wheelchair.
Three eighth grade peer mediators in MJHS Bully Busters program Brye Welty, Bridget Elston, and Larry Reverman said they have seen a significant change in how the program is helping combat bullying.
Elston explained that more students are coming forward and reporting a bully.
"They can do it anonymously so I think that helps put them at ease," Elston said.
Reverman said that students are receptive to the mediators and understand that they are there to help find a resolution to a bullying problem. He also talked of the impact Risk had on his life.
"She has altered my life forever," he said.
Welty agreed and added, "She taught us that just a simple smile can make you feel better."
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For more information on Gabrielle Ford and Izzy go to www.gabeandizzy.com.
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