“Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” (Scott Adams)That’s a perfect quote to introduce Kathy Sain Giroux as we seek to “remember” Kathy and the “kindness” that was ever present in her life. Kathy spent her childhood in Kansas, and early on it was clear that she had a tremendous love of animals. She enjoyed riding horses and she always had a cat in her lap or a dog at her heels. Later, when Kathy moved with her family to Maryland, there were always cats, dogs, or rabbits in the household and horses in the barn. Kathy’s gentle nature resulted in an instant connection with the people she encountered as well as her furry friends. At the age of 15, Kathy was diagnosed with myotonic muscular dystrophy, a progressively debilitating genetic disease that also affected her father. Kathy was able to live a fairly normal life into her early 30’s and married her husband Ken in 2006. One of the photos included below is from their wedding day. Unfortunately, there is no cure for Myotonic Dystrophy and the disease took its toll on Kathy, eventually confining her to a wheelchair where she relied on others to do the things most people take for granted. One of the ways Kathy dealt with the discomfort and depression she endured as a result of the disease was to focus on her family and on helping other people. Kathy was the person her family and friends relied on to remember birthdays and to host celebrations. She loved having everyone over for game nights, birthday parties at the local dinner theater, and Super Bowl parties (lots of them, Go Pats!).Kathy harbored a great gift of empathy. She always noticed the person in the crowd who was sad or having a bad day, and she would do anything in her power to brighten that person’s day. She willingly gave of her modest resources to help her favorite causes and to bring light to the world. On August 22nd, 2019, Kathy lost her battle with myotonic dystrophy at Frederick Memorial Hospital, with her family at her side as she took her last breaths. Kathy was not done helping people, however, and she made sure that her final act on this earth was to help others through organ and tissue donation (Donate Life!) FMH honored Kathy with their first-ever Honor Walk. So, in the end, Kathy’s story is about how a person with a debilitating neuromuscular disease and modest resources generated an abundance of love by sowing seeds of kindness, one simple act at a time.To honor and remember Kathy’s desire to help others and to reflect her love of animals and the therapeutic connections they make with humans, Kathy’s family and friends have chosen to partner with Healing Strides of Virginia to establish the Kathryn Sain Giroux Scholarship Fund. This memorial fund will provide resources to those in need with limited resources so that they can benefit from the programs at Healing Strides.