I have always been a fan of the movies; I enjoy escaping into a dark theater to watch a story unfold before me on the big screen. In fact, I am sitting down to write this after enjoying a trip to the movies with my family to see Dolphin Tale, a terrific story that had my six-year-old daughter both enthralled and teary-eyed when she saw the hurt dolphin who we would come to know as Winter. I hope some of the passion and determination exhibited by Sawyer Nelson (played by Nathan Gamble) sunk in with her and she will someday find her own calling (other than Barbies!) that inspires her in a similarly compassionate and blindly hopeful way.

True stories can be more mind-blowing to an audience and more captivating to Hollywood filmmakers than fiction. These films - and their stories - in turn, can motivate others to act in inspired ways. In particular, big screen messages of medical empowerment can have an impact on audiences. The real life inspiration for the film Lorenzo's ...