Those of you who read my blog know that Motor Man and I love to travel to the Corolla area of the Outer Banks, North Carolina. (Our trips there are on hold for a while right now until his shoulder injury heals.)
I follow several Facebook pages from that area, including, of course, The Corolla Wild Horse Fund, the organization who cares for the wild horses.
Over the past couple of days, I became aware of a community-wide effort to provide an exceptional weekend in Corolla for one very special person.
That person is Melissa Renzi, who is dealing with several issues, including gastroparesis. Melissa is in hospice care for mitochondrial disease and also suffers from dysautonomia fibromyalgia. I contacted Melissa regarding writing this post, and she graciously gave me permission to share all her details in order to bring awareness to these diseases.
Seeing the wild horses of Corolla was on Melissa’s bucket list, and one of her friends has been planning this weekend for her for quite a while. Several businesses in the area worked together to make it a memorable weekend for her.
- Uncle Ike’s Sandbar and Grill and Cosmo’s Pizza provided food.
- Hampton Inn of Corolla gave Melissa and her husband a discounted rate on their room.
- Bob’s Wild Horse Tours treated the Renzis to a ride on the beach.
- And Corolla Wild Horse Fund gave the Renzis a tour of the rescue farm, so Melissa and her husband could meet the horses who live there.
Photo by Jeff Kelly
Reading all these Facebook posts and the comments on them was so heartwarming, I was brought to tears.
BUT, wait, there’s more!
It was discovered that the first Corolla foal of the 2019 season was born THIS past weekend: the same weekend of the Renzi’s visit. So….the folks at Corolla Wild Horse Fund decided on the perfect name for the new baby boy.
His name: RENZI.
Photo by Mike Davenport
The story of Melissa and her special trip has touched so many people in the past few days. It’s heartwarming not only to realize the kindness of all the folks who made this happen, but also to think of all the well wishes, positive thoughts and prayers for her.
All our best to you, Melissa.
~These Days Of Mine~
these days of mine 
What a wonderful story and an extra blessing that there is a precious little foal named after them romping the beaches of the OBX. We wish Melissa all the best with her significant health issues. I know their visit will be something they talk about for a long time to come….just as the memory of the kindness of the people of Corolla will be.
Pam
This is MY kind of story! Thank you so much for sharing . I love that so many people came together to get her dream to come true and what a gift that must have been. Keeping Melissa and her family in my prayers.
Bravo!, Corolla Wild Horse Fund.. Such an honor for the Renzi’s, & a cool name for the horse !
I agree with Beth Ann, I love stories like this. Showing the caring, lovely, and helping each other. This is life at it’s best. I know I have this before dear friend and classmate, but from Surry Elem to present you have bloomed into a beautiful and special person. Thank you and continue to shine and keeping up this blog. It is special to so many of us. OH I love that Corolla Wild Horse Fund picked the name Renzi, it is a perfect name for this beautiful pony. I am sure it bring Renzi much happiness. God bless her and her family.
Truly a kindness. WVEC TV shared that story earlier this week. I just didn’t ‘get’ it all at the time. So glad you shared it so I’d truly appreciate it. Thanks.
Truly heartwarming and inspiring. ❤ Love little Renzi's one black stocking too, so sweet.
Such a touching story! It makes my heart happy to read about all the good things people do for one another.