Ashley Bock - Fall 2009

Five-year-old Ashley Bock is making the big leap to Kindergarten. She’s transitioning to a Kindergarten class in the mornings and loves it, especially because she can buy her own lunch.

Outside of school, Ashley enjoys riding horses. She’s started a horseback-riding therapy program last January and looks forward to riding Buddy, her favorite horse in the stable. She also likes to dance to all types of music and is a huge Hannah Montana fan. And when it comes to playtime, playing with her dollhouse is her favorite way to pass the time.

Ashley has a twin sister, Jessica, and an older brother Christopher (Topher), who is eight years old. Her family has two dogs, Codi, an Alaskan malamute who was rescued from a shelter, and a sheltie named Sadie. Her brother has two dwarf hamsters, Daisy and Minnie. “I love to talk to them and watch them run on their wheel,” she said.

She had a busy summer. Ashley went on a trip to San Antonio and then attended a “bunch of therapy camps” at the same place where she rides Buddy.

This last summer, Ashley and her family also went to the CCA retreat at Great Wolf Lodge. “I had so much fun,” she said. “I loved seeing and playing with other kids like me.” Ashley met up with her friend Olivia Sanborn and Olivia’s sister, Amelia. Plus she saw so many other CCA friends, including Kieran, Seth, Brody, Ashley, Antonio and Alexis, just to name a few. She also met plenty of new friends, too.

Ashley has been to four retreats so far—Grapevine, TX; Nashville, TN; Hershey, PA; and Salt Lake City, UT—and she looks forward to going to more.

Ashley has Apert Syndrome and has had 17 surgeries so far. “Sometimes after surgery your tummy won’t feel good,” she said. “And they put stickers all over your chest and tummy and a pulse ox and IV.” Her next procedure will be the mid-face.

Always the optimist, Ashley takes everything in stride: “You get to eat popsicles and ice cream and play doctor with your bear. And they have a playroom.”

When she grows up, Ashley wants to be a doctor, so she can take care of “surgery kids.”

If you would like to share your story with CCA, please send an email to Annie Reeves at areeves@ccakids.com. If your story is chosen, with your permission, we will edit and publish it in the CCA newsletter, on the Web site or use it for public awareness programs. Not all stories will be selected.

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