Winter

My hero project is about Winter the dolphin. To me, a hero is one who doesn't give up and keeps trying no matter how hard life can be. A hero has to have perseverance, joy, and even hope. Even though these little traits don't seem like much, they can do a lot! I picked Winter the dolphin for this project because she inspires me to appreciate the little things in life, whether that is learning how to swim again or just hearing a good morning from someone. Winter lives in the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida where she has a loving family of trainers and other dolphins. She was born around October 2005. When Winter was about  three months old, she was found washed up on shore in Mosquito Lagoon. This poor, little dolphin's tail was wrapped very tightly in a crab trap. She was rushed to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium where emergency surgery took place to amputate her tail.

Winter with her prosthetic tail ( ())

The surgery was a success! After the word got out about this strong little dolphin, Dan Strzempka and Kevin Carroll came together and created Winter's new prosthetic tail. It took a while for Winter to get comfortable with the new tail. But after long sessions of physical therapy, she learned how to swim again. Some hardships she had to overcome were learning to swim with and without a tail. Winter is still currently doing physical therapy because when she swims without her prosthetic she has to swim from side to side, which is bad for her spine.  One of Winter's heroic qualities is perseverance. She has been through surgery, gotten a new tail and learned how to swim again. Usually when dolphins get trapped in crab traps, they don't survive. But she did! She has had a tough life and has still been successful! She has even starred in her own movie! She has inspired many people and continues to.

Winter painting

Another heroic quality she has is joy. She is still very playful, happy, and lovable! I think this quality is the most important because it would have been easy to just sulk in her own sorrow but, instead, she chose to be happy. She enjoys all the attention she gets at the aquarium! Her favorite thing to do is paint and she is very good at it! Last, but not least, she is very hopeful! She believed she could swim again and that she would survive! She stayed strong and kept trying her hardest. I think this trait is very important because she had one goal and she gave all she had to reach that goal. That goal was to be able to swim again. Now she even has a best friend named Hope that the aquarium rescued!