The mission of My Son Shines Fund in partnership with Legacy Parks Foundation is to fund a new playground and picnic shelter at Carter Sports Park in Knoxville, TN in memory of our infant son, Dierks Nash Limbaugh. My husband, Michael, and I welcomed our third son into the world on January 3, 2014. Dierks Nash Limbaugh was 6 pounds, 6 ounces and, in the words of Nurse Rose, was "perfect". Unknown
at the time, Dierks had an enzyme deficiency that would, two short days later, shockingly capture his life. In our profound loss, we have felt the arms of God envelope us and witnessed His profound love. We have been surrounded with an astounding amount of love and support from family, friends, and even perfect strangers. It quickly became apparent that our little Dierks had a purpose and, as a dear friend pointed out, one that he fulfilled in only two days. In honor of Dierks, we are determined to make this world a better place, letting his (and His) light shine. Months following Dierks' passing, during our immense grief, our family visited our community playground. As the sunshine warmed our faces and we played, we found our smiles. We began very purposefully and intentionally visiting playgrounds to encourage, sometimes force, laughter, smiles, and play. Playgrounds helped our hurting hearts become healing hearts. Our community playground at Carter Sports Park, at that time, consisted of only two swings and a slide and was rather dilapidated having not been updated in over twenty years. Building a community playground that will serve as a special place for our family to remember our son and our boys to remember their brother, and now, our two girls continue to learn the legacy of their brother, would be so special words fail me. Ask Michael, that does not happen often! A new playground and picnic shelter would, too, offer a special place for many families to watch their children simply enjoy their childhood: playing, laughing, learning, and loving. Just the thought alone brightens our world! Our family’s enjoyment of outdoor activities such as camping, canoeing, hiking and kayaking has been incorporated in the playground structures and design elements. We believe this will help promote physical activity for our youth, introduce and inspire families to enjoy these outdoor activities, and foster families in making wonderful childhood memories and establishing family traditions. With the Smoky Mountains in the background, we believe it is the perfect design! Imagining the day that we are able to present Knox County Parks and Recreation with a check to see this mission come to fruition and imagining the giggles and squeals of children playing, gives us daily strength. As of April 2023, the playground structures at Carter Sports Park have been removed due to the dangers posed by the dilapidated equipment. Please join us, lock arms with us in accomplishing our goal to build a new playground and picnic shelter at Carter Sports Park!
