DYNA's Korny Little Story of Inspiration
In amongst the reeds and river grasses, if you look very carefully, you may just find a very unique type of frog. Unlike other frogs, these frogs have pale, almost see-through skin. Their legs are long, and they are elegant and quite beautiful. They are kind and gentle in spirit. These are the High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs.
These frogs can jump to great heights, and can find themselves in new and interesting places. They are an exceptional group with some wonderful talents. Most of the frogs are females, but there are some extraordinary male High Jumping Dizzy Frogs, too.
Sadly, what makes the High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs so beautiful, and what makes their legs so long and their skin so pale, is an illness. Sometimes, their illness makes life very difficult for the High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs. They can't tolerate the heat, they get tired very easily, and if they go jumping one day, the next day they feel weak and sick. They get dizzy, and they have to learn that when they feel dizzy, they need to lie down quickly or else they'll faint. They get headaches and stomach aches, too. The High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs need to conserve their energy so that they can do the things that they enjoy. The other frogs in the pond don't understand the illness very well, and don't understand that the High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs often need to rest.
Thankfully, there is an organization called DYNA that helps the High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs. DYNA protects our pale, pretty frog friends and tries to educate the other frogs in the pond. The High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs appreciate DYNA very much. DYNA helps the High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs learn that their illness is not a weakness-it's a difference but not a weakness. I'm sure you'll agree that, in fact, High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs are actually very strong frogs!
Every July, DYNA sets aside a special part of the pond so that the High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs can spend time together. High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs from ponds all over the world make their way over to the pond and, if you happen to visit this pond in July, you might just see dozens of High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs lying in the reeds laughing and talking with each other. They spend a few days together sharing stories, having fun, and just enjoy being frogs.
One year at their July get-together, a couple of High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs felt so good that they were using their long legs to jump extra high. They were so excited because they were feeling good, that they jumped and hopped and bounced and twisted and turned in the air and decided that they needed some fun. So, they came up with what they thought was a great idea; they decided to venture away from the pond and see what they might find. Some of the other High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs joined them and they all jumped and hopped over fields, through woods, and over more fields, along paths, up hills, across streams, and when they eventually stopped jumping they realized that they were completely lost.
One frog noticed a barn in the distance, so, thinking that there might be somewhere to rest for a while, they all hopped towards the farm. Inside the barn was a huge vat of milk. The frogs were very thirsty and decided that it would be great fun to see if they could swim in the milk to cool down and also have a nice long drink. So, in they leapt. For a few minutes they paddled about, laughing and shouting, bobbing up and down, sipping the cool milk. They were having so much fun and couldn't wait to tell their friends that they'd been swimming in milk. They were all enjoying themselves, for High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs often feel good when swimming, until some of the frogs became tired and wanted to get out of the vat to rest, but no matter how hard they jumped they couldn't get out of the vat.
All the High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs were scared. They jumped as high as they could but the sides of the vat was too high and they could not get out. Some of the frogs were getting weak and dizzy and thought that they'd drown in that milk vat. High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs are very good at team work; they know that if they work together they can accomplish anything. So, the stronger frogs kicked their long legs and kept afloat and held on tight to their weaker, tired friends. Together, they kept above the surface and didn't give up. They kicked and jumped and hopped as well and as high as they could. The weaker frogs were growing weaker and wanted to give up, but the stronger frogs wouldn't let them stop.
"Keep jumping! Don't give up!" shouted one frog.
"Don't stop jumping!" yelled another.
"Just jump!" shouted a third.
So they did. They kept jumping and jumping and paddling and kicking even though they wanted to give up. When one of the frogs was struggling, the others helped her. When a tired frog fell to the bottom of the vat, the others pulled him back up again. When the weakest frogs were ready to give up, they saw how the stronger frogs were persevering, and that gave them strength. They couldn't and wouldn't give up.
For what seemed like hours and hours, those High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs jumped and paddled with all their might, and eventually their hard work and determination paid off. They had jumped so high and paddled so hard and kicked for so long, that they had turned that vat full of milk into a vat full of butter. One by one, they were able to take one big jump off the butter, out of the vat, until they were all safe and happy on solid ground again.
Back at the pond, lying in the cool reeds and river grasses, the High Jumping Dizzy Dysautonomia Frogs who had been on the adventure told the others what they had learned. They had learned that if they work together, they can achieve almost anything.
In DYNA we never give up hope and we never stop jumping!