Covina police, LAFD dancing to help 2-year-old Eastvale girl

EASTVALE, Calif. (KABC) -- The Covina Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department are dancing to help 2-year-old Finley Smallwood raise money and awareness about cerebral palsy.

Shortly after getting married, Christina and Josh Smallwood found out that pregnancy could be risky and difficult. They decided to turn to adoption and adopted Finley at birth.

Finley was born 9-weeks premature and suffers from cerebral palsy. She loves to dance but can't move without help.

"She sees other kids playing and she asks, 'I want to get up too.' She knows to ask, and so it tugs at your heart a little bit," Christina Smallwood said.

Finley uses a walker to get around but won't be allowed to use one when she starts preschool for safety reasons.

"She was just fitted for a wheelchair for school, and that's what kind of pushed me to look into, 'OK, what else can we do for her?'" Christina Smallwood said.

The Smallwoods found out that Finley is a good candidate for selective dorsal rhizotomy. The procedure could help her walk on her own someday.

While the surgery could be really life-changing, it is also extremely costly. A family friend came up with an idea that could Finley.

"She did this little blog and this dance video of her and Finley dancing to the Meghan Trainor song, and right then and there I went, 'Oh my gosh, this could be Finley's miracle,'" family friend Brittany Rodriguez said.

Thanks to Rodriguez the Dare to Dance challenge was born. Los Angeles firefighters and Covina police officers stepped up to the challenge to show support for Finley.

"This has been a week out of this video, and we're already halfway to a goal, which I thought was a pretty lofty goal, I mean $60,000 to raise is a lot of money," Josh Smallwood said.

The Smallwoods hope to schedule Finley's surgery at the end of this year.

If you would like to learn more about Finley's journey and how you can help, please visit www.doyoudaretodance.com