Overcoming hurdles with every step

    On a wall in the Ganado ISD administration building is a quote that says "Every student counts...Every moment matters." Naturally there are students that leave a mark more indelible than others. Seventh grader Charlie Hardwick is leaving her mark in a way that has brought together not only Ganado's athletic program, but quite possibly the whole school.
    Charlie has Apert's Syndrome, a genetic mutation that causes abnormal development of the skull and other bones. The defective gene allows the bones to fuse together prematurely, so while the brain continues to grow it puts pressure on the skull and face. In Charlie's case, Apert's has effected her legs, elbows, feet and hands.
    Charlie had attended Elks Camp in the year 2014, a place where having a difference doesn’t make a difference, and she met two student counselors from Ganado High School, Hannah Bearden and Emma Wiegand. Wiegand awarded Charlie Camper of the Week at the end of the week and made a mark in Charlie’s heart. This was her first camp and her first time being away from home.
    "Charlie had never gotten anything like that before and she was so happy," said  her father, Dr. John Hardwick, who is also the Ganado ISD superintendent. "She'd just had her 27th, 28th and 29th surgeries that summer."
    "I was in Ganado doing an interim superintendency and there was a question of whether we wanted to stay in Ganado longer, and my wife Nancy joked I could do what I wanted but she and our children, Charlie and Jacob, were staying in Ganado," he smiled.
    They agree that the decision to stay was the best decision they ever made, because Charlie has found friends beyond her imagination in Ganado and because of the welcome and acceptance, has been able to involve herself in school activities she may have not chosen to in other towns.
    "Previously she didn't have that many friends and felt alone, but here her friends are like family," said Nancy. "She just doesn't have one friend, it's like the whole school is her friend. Everyone is behind her and I feel comfortable in her going to school. On her first day of school she came home and said nobody made fun of me, and you anticipate those kinds of things. Here it's open arms."

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