One year ago today, two-year-old Lane Graves and his family were visiting Walt Disney World from Nebraska. As they sat on the sandy shores of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, an alligator came up and pulled Lane into the Seven Seas Lagoon where his body was recovered nearly sixteen hours later.
The little boy’s tragic death was quickly ruled as an accident. In the days, weeks, and months immediately following the accident, changes were made to Walt Disney World properties that sit alongside bodies of water. Rockery was placed right at the edges of the lagoons, roped fences were also added along with signs warning guests of the presence of snakes and alligators.
His parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, made a public announcement stating that they would not be suing The Walt Disney Company over their precious son’s traumatic death; instead, they would establish the Lane Thomas Foundation in his honor. The purpose of the foundation is to support pediatric organ donation.
The official symbol of the Lane Thomas Foundation is a beautiful lighthouse which Walt Disney World is planning to have sculpted and placed at an undisclosed site on their property.
“To provide continued awareness of the foundation and its mission, we’ve commissioned an original sculpture of the lighthouse the foundation uses as a symbol of love and hope, to be installed on our property this summer,” George A. Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement Tuesday.”
The Lane Thomas Foundation’s Facebook page says the boy’s surname was included because whenever someone asked Lane’s name, he’d reply “I’m Lane Thomas. I’m two.”
Source: Orlando Sentinel
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