She ended up at Phoenix Children’s Hospital for three days and was diagnosed on Mother’s Day 2009. A couple of weeks later, on May 27, she turned 7. By December of that year she could no longer run or walk.
But during her hospital stay and despite her own pain, the little girl looked around and was troubled by what she saw. There wasn’t much in the way of games to occupy the young patients. Instead, she recalls, they watched television non-stop. She also observed that in the hospital no one sleeps. Nurses are waking up patients to check their vital stats or monitor their medicine intake, and all of the activity made Lindsey think. “Santa doesn’t come when people are awake,” she told her mom.
That single thought has brought more change to Lindsey’s life and her family’s life and even complete strangers. In fact, it might be safe to say that Lindsey and the Duran family are obsessed with change. They want your change, too—as in spare change.
Lindsey has set a goal to collect enough spare change to buy 200 games for Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She plans on making sure the young patients in the hospital this Christmas season have a gift, if not from Santa who won’t show up when people are wide awake, then from Lindsey and her army of helpers.
She thinks kids would rather be “glued to a game than glued to a TV.”
The family started brainstorming in June and came up with the idea to decorate jars and place them in areas where people could donate. The idea caught on and the whole family got involved. Five-year-old Nathan suggested the jars should be plastic so they wouldn’t break. And then he urged his mom to ask her hairdresser to put a jar in her beauty shop. She did, and then another client asked if he could place a jar at his office. It kept happening like that and today the Durans have more than 50 jars in business throughout North Central Phoenix and in three states.
“I admire it,” says Lindsey’s father, Zack, about his daughter’s commitment to her cause. He says he likes to stay in the background but it’s obvious he’s quite pleased with the generosity she has shown.
The past year has brought a lot of change to his family. His daughter can now run, jump and hula-hoop, but she still has trouble sometimes. “Today I fell down,” she admits. She’s still on steroids and still gets check-ups that include painful spinal taps, nerve tests and MRIs. The good news is that in most cases the syndrome is curable.
For now the cute, highly animated, well-spoken Lindsey isn’t letting anything slow her down. She’s grateful for twin friends like Jordan and Claire Weiner who are on their third jar now.
“They helped me up the stairs and if I fell on my back,” says Lindsey. “I’m really grateful that I have friends who help me.” They’ve been friends since they were 3 years old. Now each week the twins donate $1 of their allowance to Lindsey’s cause.
Some of the local businesses that have been helping out include Smeeks, a nostalgic candy store at the northwest corner of Central and Camelback whose owners donated several games to Lindsey’s cause, and neighboring business Red Hot Robot, a toy gallery and “culture shop” featuring local designers. Owner Jason Kiningham gussied up the plastic jar and laminated the info card before placing it on his front counter. “I’m happy to help, it’s a great cause and she’s a great kid.”
Other North Central businesses that have pitched in include Baby Bloomers, Wikki Stix, Write ONs, All About Books & Comics, and Stuffington Bear Factory, with more joining the cause seemingly every week.
Lindsey’s parents know she will reach her goal because of her track record. When she set a goal to sell 75 boxes of Girl Scout cookies she ended up selling more than 200 boxes. And when she first started taking steroids to fight the inflamed nerves her classroom participation suffered.
“When she was on a very, very high dosage of steroids she would fall asleep in class,” says her mom, adding that sometimes Lindsey would even hallucinate. She couldn’t focus and couldn’t sleep at night. Yet, during that time her teacher at Madison Heights had 26 assignments each month, of which students were expected to complete a minimum of 10. Lindsey did all 26 assignments every month for the entire school year.
She’s well on her way to reaching her goal but always welcomes more donations and support. On Saturday, Oct. 16 Lindsey plans on having a lemonade stand at Two Hippies Beach House, located at 5th Street and Camelback Road. A future lemonade stand also is planned for Paradise Bakery & Café, located at 12th Street and Glendale Avenue.
Later in the fall she wants to have a “coin rolling” party and get her friends involved in helping her count her change. It will also be a fun experiment in math, adds her mom.
They are already shopping for games. Her favorites include Chutes and Ladders, Candyland and the card games Go Fish and War.
“I’m really working hard at it,” says Lindsey. “I really want people to participate!”
You can donate to Lindsey’s cause and get updates on her progress by visiting her website: http://lindsysfunraiser. vpweb.com. But be prepared when you meet the high-powered young sales lady. You just might find yourself emptying your pockets and donating all of your spare change. And that’s just how she’d like it because with all that change, 8-year-old Lindsey Duran is going to change things up for some kids this holiday season.
