In August of 2019, Allie Cooney enrolled at Lancaster Elementary in Madisonville, LA eager and ready to begin her 3rd grade year.
From the moment Allie rolled through the doors, it was evident she was special. Allie had a personality that could light up any room and brought joy to everyone.
Allie was born on May 7, 2010 in China. Since the day Allie was born, she began overcoming challenges. Allie was born with spina bifida and placed in a children’s hospice home in China, where she was cared for until she was adopted. When Allie was 2 years old, she was adopted by her loving parents, Dale and Raney Cooney. Allie went home to Louisiana where she was welcomed by her 3 older brothers.
Like many others with spina bifida, Allie encounters challenges daily. Throughout her life, she has undergone countless surgeries and hospital stays related to spina bifida. Her daily challenges are inevitable; however, Allie always remains positive and makes the most out of every situation.
During Allie’s time at Lancaster, she made more progress than ever before. Her parents attributed that to the high expectations and collaboration put forth by the teachers and staff at Lancaster.
On May 17, 2023, Dale reached out to Lancaster’s principal, Laura Haggard. Dale’s email stated the following: We would like to thank you and your awesome staff for being on Team Allie these last four years. She has definitely benefited from moving to Lancaster and more importantly being in the midst of such caring individuals. We cannot thank you all enough. He continued with, We don’t have anything specific in mind, but with your help and that of your excellent staff, we would hope we could come up with something that could end up bearing Allie’s name in remembrance.
The staff did not have a plan, but they knew it had to be something special.
On June 14, 2023, one of Allie’s teachers, Melanie Hickman, came up with the idea of creating a butterfly enclosure to honor Allie. She stated that she had no idea why that specific idea came to mind, but it just felt like it was the perfect way to honor Allie.
Mrs. Hickman reached out to Dale and told him the idea followed by, I know Allie won’t ever have the use of her legs, but she still manages to find a way to fly through this world! She’s our own little butterfly.”
Dale and Raney were stunned by the idea because butterflies symbolized something near and dear to their hearts. Unbeknownst to the staff at Lancaster, butterflies have been surrounding Allie since she was born. As fate would have it, the children’s hospice that cared so deeply for Allie was called… Butterfly Home
Allie was always meant to spread her wings and fly from the moment she was born. Lancaster may have been a short stop on her life journey, but the impact that LES and Allie had on each other will last a lifetime.