Dickinson girl receives special invitation from the Minnesota Vikings

DICKINSON, N.D. (KFYR) – The Minnesota Vikings host the Indianapolis Colts this week in Sunday night football.

You can watch that game on Your News Leader.

But one Dickinson teen will get to watch the game from the sidelines.

Alivia Zeimer’s story is nothing short of good news.

Twelve-year-old Alivia Zeimer has watched a video from Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell hundreds of times. A photo captured the moment she saw the video for the first time.

“I was crying, sobbing, like full-on crying,” she recalled.

It’s a personal video message to Zeimer from O’Connell, inviting her to a game.

“It meant a lot because I’ve never really been invited to something by someone who is famous,” said Zeimer.

Zeimer is a big Vikings fan.

“I grew up watching them,” she said.

Zeimer loves all sports. She’s in the middle of basketball season now and also plays volleyball and runs track.

Now, those sports are a little easier for her, thanks to a new sports prosthetic from the Little Buddy Foundation.

“This one has really nice movement and bend to it,” said Zeimer, who lost her foot in a lawnmower accident when she was three years old.

She’s never let that keep her from chasing her dreams. She hopes she might inspire others to do the same.

“I hope that they can realize that. Just because something is hard, or something had happened doesn’t mean you are stopped. And you can still do it. It just might take some adapting,” said Zeimer.

“She’s been through this traumatic event, but she is kind. She is caring. She is her own person. She’s goofy and she’s just the best,” added her mom, Rebecca DiMeo.

And every day, Zeimer overcomes obstacles and never lets anything keep her from doing the things she loves.

Zeimer has two prosthetics; one she uses every day, and the other, from the Little Buddy Foundation, is for sports.

The Little Buddy Foundation provides prosthetics for children throughout the United States. They also try to include a little something extra for the kids they help. For Zeimer, that’s this trip to the Vikings game.

You can learn more about the Little Buddy Foundation on their website.

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