Cape kids make lemonade out of one of life’s most heartbreaking lemons
If the love of a child knows no bounds, a Cape Coral father in need must be feeling that limitless love.
Virgil Garrison said he was diagnosed seven years ago with a brain condition that has led to serious neurological issues and the need for treatment.
His kids, Hunter, 12, and Jillian, 11, decided they wanted to raise some of the money needed as well as help lessen financial concerns around the house.
“We just wanted to do something good. We want to help Dad get better, and if we have to sell a ton of lemonade and be outside all day, we’ll do it,” Hunter said Tuesday as the two siblings manned their lemonade stand along Santa Barbara Boulevard just south of Diplomat Parkway.
The day was hot and the two had been on the corner in the north Cape with a table set up under a very large rainbow umbrella since Monday. They plan to be there the rest of the summer if people are willing to keep showing up for, perhaps, the sweetest sip in town.
Donations are accepted for each glass of lemonade. The numbers are a little different between the two of them, but Hunter and Jillian estimate they’ve had at least 100 cars stop each day.
“People have been super supportive, it’s been a fun experience. We’re hoping to raise enough in a week or two, but it’s been pretty steady,” said Jillian, who is also in charge of making the lemonade.
The condition is a spinal fluid leak that occurred from a car accident in 2012, but was never detected until this year, the children’s mother, Lindsey Garrison said.
“There are many others suffering in our community with it being grossly misunderstood in our local health community, that’s why we await treatment at Duke,” she said. “It does cause idiopathic hypertension which is like a pseudo tumor in the brain… but its actually a Cerebrospinal fluid leak.”
She is a member of a Facebook Group that has more than 4,000 members who are affected, or have a family member with the condition, including two others in Cape Coral
A GoFundMe account has been set up for Virgil Garrison and may be found at: www.gofundme.com/xm37n9-a-helping-hand .
Editor’s note” This story has been updated to include information provided by Lindsey Garrison, the children’s mother.