A Home for Hope: How One Nonprofit Changed the Life of a Marine Corps Family

For active duty Marines, Marine Corps veterans, and their loved ones, the challenges of being a military family can be plenty to cope with on their own. When life deals them major medical difficulties as well, the hurdles to well-being can seem downright overwhelming. 

In this regard, the story of Paisley Minor is well worth knowing. The daughter of a retired Marine Corps officer, young Paisley has faced a staggering tally of medical struggles. Yet as she and her resourceful mother have found, being diligent about searching for solutions can move life forward in unexpected yet powerful ways. Here’s the story of one proactive mother, her determined daughter, and a small but mighty nonprofit making a difference for Marine Corps families.

An Accomplished Marine Corps Veteran

Meet Paige Thomas Minor, a Marine Corps veteran whose life narrative is a testament to analytical thinking and perseverance. Minor, who hails from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, served in the Marine Corps for 25 years. The Villanova University and Mount St. Mary College graduate began as a reservist and logistics embarkation specialist, ensuring troops had the necessary supplies, medicine, and ammunition for various military deployments. 

Minor became an active-duty Marine after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Her experiences have included deploying with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East amid the War on Terror, various posts in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and continuing education at the Professional Military Education Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, Virginia. She has also been the commander of the only Mortuary Affairs unit in the Marine Corps and a logistics operations officer.

Needless to say, there’s very little this Marine can’t figure out when it comes to planning and executing a mission.

A Bittersweet Blessing

While serving in this last capacity, Minor began expecting her first child, Paisley. Early in her pregnancy, it became clear that Paisley’s legs were forming abnormally, and Minor became at risk for miscarriage at the 24-week mark. At 36 weeks, Paisley was born with a rare medical condition called tibial hemimelia, in which her hips were displaced, her tibias were completely absent, and the rest of her legs and feet weren’t correctly formed. 

As she recovered from the birth, Minor was faced with a heart-breaking choice: have her daughter’s legs amputated or go through the process of reconstruction for cosmetic purposes, with the second option confining Paisley to a cast and wheelchair throughout her childhood and adolescence. 

Minor decided to use her military skills to get through the dilemma. “I treated it like it was an operation,” the logistics officer explains, because it “allowed me not to be so stuck on the human emotion and the new motherly instinct … my life's experience put me in a position of problem-solving to look at it and be like, ‘Okay, what now? … What are my options? And how do I get her to be able to … run, jump, and play?’” 

A Resilient Mother-Daughter Pair

After consulting with medical specialists, and personal support network, Minor decided to proceed with bilateral (above-the-knee) amputation for Paisley, who also underwent two hip surgeries and other procedures for a total of eight surgeries. Later, Paisley was diagnosed with other physical and mental health development issues so Minor knew she’d have to educate herself and get tactical to ensure her child’s wellness.

Through all of this, Paisley proved unstoppable, adapting her body and movements in creative ways to maintain as much mobility as possible. She became a source of inspiration for her mother, who shoulders more than the average parent. “And I'm just looking [at her] and I'm like, ‘Man, that is grit. That is determination,’” Minor recalls.

In 2019, Minor started a nonprofit called Leap, which references the acronym for lower extremity amputations and prosthetics. She even began work on a book called “Zero Distance.” Both efforts are a metaphor for “overcoming life's obstacles, taking risks, going after things,” explains Minor. “[I]f you know what [your goal] is and you put zero distance between you and it, and then you … believe that you deserve it, then all you got to do is go get it.”

As Paisley grew, she grew more independent in spirit. Even as Minor watched her struggle to maneuver in certain environments, like getting up and down stairs, she realized she couldn’t carry her daughter around forever — and that Paisley wouldn’t want her to. Then she had an idea that would solve both problems: an in-home elevator. At first, the ever-proactive logistics officer did research and sought to pursue grants to cover the costs. 

A Perfect Nonprofit Solution

Through a colleague’s connections, Minor learned about a nonprofit organization called the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation (MC-LEF). Although it specializes in infant helmet therapy and college scholarships for the children of fallen Marine Corps parents, it can also elect to provide funding to Marine Corps families for other purposes. 

Minor contacted MC-LEF in hopes of a mere contribution toward the cost of a home elevator. But after sending over some paperwork, she was later astounded to learn that MC-LEF planned to cover “[t]he whole amount. [...] All I need[ed was] the name of the vendor.”

In a matter of days, MC-LEF sent the necessary deposit to the elevator company, and the installation process began. Many hours later, Paisley, who didn’t know about the plan, was brought home. Her mother then had the pleasure of unveiling and explaining the elevator. Minor recalls: “And so she got in and she was smiling. Man, you should see these pictures. She's just smiling.” 

Paisley quickly learned how to use the elevator herself, triumphantly announcing, “I did it. I came up all by myself. Mommy didn't help me get up this step. I came up all by myself.”

A New Way Forward

Since receiving her personal elevator, Paisley has continued to grow and thrive. She’s a creative thinker with an interest in art. She loves nature and hiking and biking through it. She even enjoys swimming, often no easy feat even for typically abled children. More importantly, Minor notes, she has developed into a generous and caring person. “She likes to be helpful wherever she can have a role, a role in the family, in the classroom or anything like that. She just likes to give back. [...] She loves big hugs. She loves flowers.”

Supporting America’s Military Families With MC-LEF

For the Minor family and countless others with military connections, organizations like MC-LEF are essential for navigating life in the face of adversity and building healthy, happy futures. For the rest of us, supporting them may be one of the best ways we can thank our military service members not just for their sacrifices, but for all the ways they mobilize our nation.

Since its inception in 1995, the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation (MC-LEF) has provided $35,000 in educational accounts and humanitarian assistance to the families of active duty fallen United States Marines, Navy Corpsmen, and Federal Law Enforcement Agents. To date, MC-LEF has awarded over $93 million in educational accounts and other humanitarian assistance to over 6,000 recipients. Contact us to learn more!

All MC-LEF officers and board members are volunteers; we have only one paid employee. We pride ourselves on running our organization as cost-effectively as possible so that over 90% of our donor funds can be used to accomplish our mission of serving the children of those who sacrificed all. Please consider donating today!