A girl from Georgia is proving that animals are just like humans.
Twelve-year-old Kendall Barfield recently met a young green sea turtle he adopted named Bandit. Bandit currently lives at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island.
The turtle has been undergoing rehabilitation at the center since a boating accident in 2021 that injured its spine and paralyzed its rear flippers.
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It turns out that Barfield and Bandit have similar stories. Diagnosed with spina bifida at his birth, the boy was paralyzed from the ankles down.
Fox News Digital spoke to Kendall Barfield and her mother, Danielle Barfield, of Columbus, Georgia, about the moment they met Bandit, a female turtle.
According to Georgia's Kendall Barfield (pictured above, wearing a turtle T-shirt), bandits can weigh up to 400 pounds and grow up to 5 feet long. (Jekyll Island Authority)
Danielle Barfield first heard about bandits when she and her husband visited Jekyll Island, a barrier island off the coast of Georgia, on a business trip.
“I was really impressed. [the turtle’s] “I felt a connection,” she said.
“It was so close to Christmas, [of 2022]. So I thought, “Kendall loves animals.” She loves aquariums and sea animals. She wants to adopt Bandit, so to speak. ” So I gave her a Bandit for Christmas. ”
But Kendall Barfield and Bandit were just friends from afar until the Barfields took a four-hour car trip to Jekyll Island on January 5, 2024.
The seventh-grader said she was “really surprised” by the sea turtle's size when she saw it in person, even though Bandit was likely still a teenager.
Kendall Barfield and her parents met Bandit (right) for the first time on January 5, 2024, at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island. (Jekyll Island Authority)
“I've always loved marine life, so I thought it was really cool to be up close to turtles,” she said. “And I've always felt close to the ocean. I love swimming and I love going to the beach.”
Kendall Barfield said it's also “really cool” to have something in common with turtles.
“I use crutches and for long distances I usually use a wheelchair,” she said. “I can't feel anything from my heels on.”
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The tween said she wants other children to know that people with spina bifida “may look different on the outside, but we're all the same on the inside.”
Mother Danielle Barfield, who knows what it's like to care for a child with a disability, said the turtle's story really resonated with her.
“What God has done through Kendall is truly amazing,” she said of her daughter. “Her smile lights up a room and people see what she has. [gone] This gives them hope of what they can do. ”
Bandit wears a “rear end fanny pack” to keep his lower body buoyant in the water, said Jekyll Island Management's marketing communications manager. The photo above shows the Barfield family watching Bandit. (Jekyll Island Agency)
This was also part of the connection she felt with Bandit, she said, because they “could easily put him to sleep.”
“They couldn't have fought to save her life,” she said. “Doctors do this all the time to mothers with this type of diagnosis.”
She added, “They say, 'You have a choice,' but we knew we didn't have a choice. What if I had listened to that? Then Kendall would not have existed,” he added.
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The mother explained that her daughter has a mild case of the “most severe” type of spina bifida, which causes immobility from the ankles down but can in some cases cause paralysis in the upper parts of the body. .
“We are very lucky that she is now able to walk and move around more freely,” she said.
Danielle Barfield (pictured far right and daughter), the mother of a child with spina bifida, said she was “really moved” by Bandit's story. (Jekyll Island Agency)
Kendall Barfield added: “My childhood dream was to wiggle my toes. I can't wiggle my toes.”
Her mother said she and her daughter sometimes have “days when I hate spina bifida.”
But “there are still many days to be thankful for the path God has given us.”
In a separate interview with Fox News Digital, Kathryn Hahn, marketing communications manager for the Jekyll Island Agency, reiterated that the Georgia Sea Turtle Center is going above and beyond for the “charismatic” bandit. Ta.
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“The Georgia Sea Turtle Center's mission, and really our greatest passion, is to provide every patient with the best care and the best chance for safe release and a high quality of life,” she said. Ta.
Although Bandit needs to find a permanent position due to injury, Hearn reported that Bandit is still “growing.”
Aerial photo of Jekyll Island, Georgia shows Clam Creek and St. Simons Bay. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“We are dedicated to keeping her healthy,” she said. “We want to make sure she's still doing well and on her healthy path and continuing her healthy eating habits.”
Hearn added that Bandit's injury “doesn't slow her down one bit.”
“She loves splashing in the water,” she said. ”[She] She loves meeting all the people who visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and it is a testament to her resilience that she literally keeps swimming. ”
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Mr Hearn recalled the “really special” encounter between Kendall Barfield and Mr Bandit and said the center was “very grateful to our adoptive parents”. [who] We symbolically adopt these animals. ”
She said, “We're creating an environment to educate people and let them know that things like boat strikes where sea turtles come up to breathe really happen.”
An aquarist learns about breeding behavior with a green sea turtle during a training session at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, June 8, 2023. (Eileen T. Messler/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Jekyll Island continues to be home to a wide variety of wildlife, as the agency's conservation and land management teams work to protect residents, including alligators and bald eagles.
“Our team is constantly researching and tracking to ensure that the balance between humans and nature remains stable,” Hahn said.
Kendall Barfield said she and her mother hope to revisit Jekyll Island and Bandit over the summer.
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“It's a really nice place,” Daniel Barfield said. “That was a big kick.”
Kendall Barfield said she is interested in pursuing a career in animal care in the future.
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“I've always wanted to work at a pet store, and I also love rocks,” she said, adding that she also enjoys working in rock research.
“Alternatively, you could work at a dog shelter,” she added. “That makes me happy.”
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