Fittingly, on a day when thunderstorms gave way to a cloudless afternoon, Walmart truck drivers gathered to celebrate the life of a 16-year-old Kentwood teenager who has faced numerous health storms of her own but who has not lost her sunny disposition.
The truckers and the Amite community gathered this past Friday to honor Kentwood teen Ferrin Grace Hendry, who underwent her first surgery 20 months after she was born.
She was celebrated through the Walmart Truckers Heart program at the company’s Amite store on a day Mayor Walter Daniels declared Ferrin Grace Hendry Day.
“These are our drivers,” said Derek Crosby, as he pointed to several drivers who were in attendance, their appearance testimony of their support to Ferrin and her family. “They are here on this special day celebrating Ferrin.”
He said many of those same drivers had spent the previous night frying fish for veterans.
“That is who these guys are,” he said. “We are here today to make (Ferrin’s life) look even better. We are making her an honorary Walmart driver.”
“We appreciate everyone being here,” Crosby said.
Walmart employee Melissa Wallace, who also organizes the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony and other events at the store, said her heart was touched by the ceremony which featured such dignitaries as Daniels, Tangipahoa Parish Councilman Louis Joseph and Police Chief Lendrick Francois and other attending officials.
“I wish there was so much more we could have done,” Wallace said, fighting back tears that rinsed the eyes of many in the audience.
Ferrin was a Valentine’s Day surprise in 2008 for her parents, Justin and Dana Hendry, but doctors immediately recognized complications. Approximately 20 hours later, Ferrin had been transferred to a Baton Rouge hospital for surgery to remove part of her intestine.
What was originally scheduled to be a six-week stay to treat jejunal atresia turned into three months, with Ferrin encountering multiple health challenges.
At the time, Dana had six children at home in Kentwood and was able to cope with “lots of families helping us.”
Ferrin came home after three months with medications and medical needs that were new to the family.
“But the Lord was with us the whole time,” Dana said. “I asked God on the way (to Baton Rouge) that day, ‘Why me?’ and he said, ‘Why not?’ I knew that day he was going to use her for really big things, and he has.”
When Ferrin was 11 months old, Dana was awoken to the sound of her daughter having seizures, one which lasted more than 20 minutes, and also a stroke. Sixteen years later, she is a smiling teenager who still faces a daily battle with medical challenges.
“She does not meet the markers for any one particular diagnosis,” Dana said. ”The doctors say she is an anomaly.
“She has always marched to the beat of her own drum, and we just try to keep in step with her.”
Unable to hold back her emotions, Dana described how in 2022 her daughter fell ill again, sleeping up to 20 hours a day and losing weight for no apparent reason. Once again, nobody was able to correctly diagnose the cause of those new complications.
Also during that time, the family, which had grown to eight children, was also trying to find two new doctors to treat their daughter.
Ferrin was eventually diagnosed with a brain tumor and degeneration of the brain, what one would associate with dementia in an older person.
“By the grace of God she is doing so much better,” Dana said. “The brain tumor has not grown. Doctors can’t give me a reason why it is not growing, but I believe it is strictly through prayer.
“People have been praying for her, people we don’t even know.”
The Walmart Drivers’ Heart program, which is “about making the kids smile,” was founded by four company truck drivers in Seymour, Indiana, who were there for another meeting but then got together to brainstorm how they could make a positive impact on the communities they serve.
While in Indiana, they heard the story of Jack Scott, a sick young boy whose mother had called Walmart with the dilemma that her son needed to stay up all night for a surgery.
The manager agreed to keep the store open, and a Walmart trucker, who made a delivery to the Indiana store that night, stayed with Scott and kept him company.
As is tradition at these events, which was the first held in Amite in at least more than a year, the young person being honored was made an honorary Walmart truck driver and presented with such items as a Walmart truck driver shirt, a Walmart employee vest and even a miniature 18-wheeler sporting the Walmart logo.
She was also presented with several other items from the various agencies in attendance.
“We are asking the community to pray for her,” said Daniels, who presented Ferrin with a key to the city.
Dana Hendry said her daughter’s illness has brought the family closer to the Lord, their church and their extended community.
“My biggest concern?” she said. “I don’t have one. Whatever she can do, that is what we are going to do and not going to worry about what she can’t do.
“But every day is a blessing.”
Following the ceremony, she said the family was humbled, overwhelmed and appreciative of the community support.
“Just knowing that they took time out of their day to pay tribute to our daughter,” she said. “(Ferrin) is very shy and reserved, but she was so excited. It means a lot to her.”
She said her daughter’s future remains in the hands of the Lord, and she puts her faith in him.
“We take it day by day,” she said.
