In spite of it all, Loker is quick to point out her many blessings: Being able to share a home with her family, having a job she loves, having good friends and a good health care system to help with the cost of a lifetime of surgeries.

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They also throw a pre-Derby party around the race to help out a charity called Blessings in a Backpack, a program that feeds elementary school children on the weekend across 32 states and three countries.

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