Virginia Beach, Va. - Ainsley Rossiter cannot talk, walk, or laugh like most 9 year olds, but if you ask her 11 year old sister Briley there is one thing she can do better than anyone else – she inspires.
Ainsley has a rare disease that slowly breaks down your muscle tissue. Only nine people in the United States have been diagnosed with the deadly disease Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy.
Like most diseases it affected the whole Rossiter family.
“You find yourself having to figure it out spiritually, emotionally, physically, it is a range of all things that make up who we are,” said Kim Rossiter, Ainsley’s dad.
The Rossiters were told Ainsley would probably die before her tenth birthday.
“The joy is in the journey, and I think Ainsley has just made my life incredible and she has given me so much that I can`t even begin to repay her for and that is something I`ll never forget,” said Briley.
The Rossiters have found one activity Ainsley did not have to watch from the sidelines.
“Ainsley is a marathoner I like to tell everyone, and it immediately changed our lives when we saw Ainsley smile as the wind blew in her face,” said Kim.
Between Briley and Kim they have pushed Ainsley, in her wheelchair, across the finish line nearly 50 times. The most recent race they ran was Saturday in Norfolk.
“My daughters quite frankly have taught me more than I would have even imagined, they won`t quit on each other and they overcome these odds right before our eyes, I could not be prouder,” said Kim.
Briley wrote about the special relationship she has with her sister in her book, “Born an Angel.”
“Ainsley is able to inspire people without even trying, just by seeing her you see how beautiful of a girl she is and how she has done so much without even knowing it and I think that is a real inspiration to people and I think that is an amazing thing,” said Briley.
All the proceeds from Briley’s book will benefit Ainsley’s Angels. The foundation helps anyone with a disability take part in a race. For more information go to ainsleysangels.org.
