Helping Make a Little Girl’s Dream Come True

Isabella Tadlock recently received a Hero Arm, a lightweight bionic hand. Through the Helping Our Own Program, the Roofing Alliance donated $5,000 to the Tadlock family to help with expenses that were not covered by insurance.

A $5,000 donation to the Tadlock family will help their daughter get the second hand she needs to climb the monkey bars and ride a bike.

This past holiday season, the Roofing Alliance helped to make a little girl’s dream come true. They donated $5,000 to the Tadlock family to help pay for their daughter’s new Hero Arm and related medical expenses.

Dale Tadlock, the president of Tadlock Roofing in Tallahassee, Florida, wrote in an email about his daughter’s unique story and her holiday wish. He starts with, “I would like to tell you a story. It is about a special little girl. It didn’t start out to be happy ever after, but it will be.” Isabella came into the world eleven years ago with multiple birth defects. Her birth parents were unable to care for her, so they gave her to the Children’s Home Society.

“This tiny baby would have a lot to overcome because she had a gaping cleft in her lip and palate. Her tiny right leg was turned in; the doctors called it clubbed. And then there was the problem with her hands. Her left arm was shorter than her right with a little nub on the end. And her right hand, well, it didn’t have any fingers at all,” Dale explains.

He and his wife had been wanting to adopt a girl for five years. When they heard about Isabella, they knew she was the special little girl they had been waiting for. Dale shares, “We brought her home to three sisters and two brothers who couldn’t wait to shower her with love and show her how special she really is.”

Throughout her eleven years, Isabella has had ten surgeries and nine casts. The Tadlocks were able to find a doctor who created fingers on her right hand by taking bones out of her toes. These bones were placed in her right hand, as well as pins and rods that had to be turned and cleaned three times a day. She now has three fingers and a thumb on her right hand. While the fingers don’t look or bend like her brothers and sisters do, they work!

However, Isabella became self-conscious about her hands and began to hide them because they weren’t like her friends. Dale says, “It is heartbreaking to watch a school production when all the other children wave their hands in the air, but never Isabella.”

To be more like her friends and do the things she’s been dreaming of, Isabella needs a second hand. This hand will give her the ability to ride a bike, tie her shoes, hold a brush while she dries her hair, and most importantly, climb on the monkey bars, which is “something that she has always wanted to do,” according to Dale.

Luckily, they found a solution. Isabella was approved for a Hero Arm, which is a lightweight bionic hand with a posable wrist and thumb. It has customizable plates to fit each person’s unique style and personality. While it is the most affordable bionic hand available, it still costs approximately $20,000. The Tadlock’s insurance agreed to cover $8,900 of the hand, but they still needed $11,100 to pay for the rest.

Tadlock Roofing gives so much to the community in Tallahassee and the roofing community as a whole. Earlier this year, Tadlock was recognized by Leon County Schools for donating $2,000 and 2,000 food items to the high school’s food bank. The company also helped facilitate free roof replacements for those in dire need, such as an Army veteran whose numerous medical bills inhibited him from replacing his 20-year-old roof.

Tadlock Roofing is the first privately owned business to join with Florida State University, Florida A&M University, and the Children’s Home Society to support the first Leon County Schools Community Partnership program in Tallahassee. In 2018, Tadlock was the title sponsor for Children’s Home Society Gala helping raise over $80,000 for that organization. During “Giving Tuesday,” Tadlock Roofing committed matching funds up to $10,000 each year for the last three years for Boystown, an organization that provides healing and hope to children and families who find themselves facing adversity. Tadlock Roofing has adopted the roof of the Ronald McDonald House of Tallahassee.

The Roofing Alliance recognizes everything Tadlock Roofing has done and wanted to help. Through the Helping Our Own Program, The Roofing Alliance donated $5,000 to the Tadlock family for Isabella’s arm. While the Roofing Alliance originally worked to help advance the roofing industry by funding technical, educational, and safety-related studies, it has since expanded its outreach to encompass so much more. The Roofing Alliance’s outreach also helps “fund efforts dedicated to good works and charitable giving.” The Roofing Alliance recognizes that sometimes there are circumstances outside of people’s control that impact them significantly, and they want to do what they can to take care of their own by easing the financial burden.

Through this generous donation, the Tadlock family is so much closer to raising all the money they need for Isabella’s Hero Arm. Soon Isabella will be climbing on the monkey bars and waving her hands in the next school production.

For more information about the Roofing Alliance, visit www.roofingalliance.net.

About the author: Lauren White is a reporter for RoofersCoffeeShop and a freelance writer covering the roofing industry.

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