Nashville resident Christina Davidson recently shared her journey with cystic fibrosis—a life-threatening genetic disease—with a national television audience on The Doctors. Nashville-based Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co., whose national program of giving Safe Step Cares routinely provides its state-of-the-art hydrotherapeutic tubs to those in need, donated $10,000 to Ms. Davidson’s new foundation, the Christina Davidson Foundation, to help raise awareness about the disease. For 23 years, Nashville’s Christina Davidson kept her cystic fibrosis a secret, in hopes that she might live a normal life. She endured numerous hospital visits to fight infections caused by the disease and questions from those close to her.
When she realized normalcy was beyond her grasp, she also understood that making a difference for others was in the palms of her hands. She created a silent video about her battle, holding up poster-sized notes for the viewers to see while not saying a word. She posted it on her Facebook page, which has since been repositioned as a public figure page due to an overwhelming response. Her silent video in which she revealed her disease has been viewed more than 12 million times. Safe Step was contacted when Christina was scheduled to appear on The Doctors to discuss her disease and her new foundation.
Safe Step answered the call and made a $10,000 donation to her foundation, which was announced on the show on Monday, March 2. In Safe Step Cares fashion, the company didn’t just want to write a check; the company invited Christina to visit the headquarters (where she’ll receive her check) to meet the company’s team members at a lunch meeting and open discussion about her disease and foundation.
“We saw her story in the news and were touched. Of course, our first instinct was to give her a free tub to help her achieve comfort for her disease. But she’s more concerned about others and so we wanted to honor her wishes with a donation to her foundation,” said Mike Duffer, president and founder of Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. “But this is not just cutting a check. She is now part of our family and we are part of hers. We wanted to present the check to her in person and have her meet the team, all of whom have been inspired by her courageous battle and noble efforts to bring awareness to cystic fibrosis.”