ADAPTIVE VAN FOR ARIANNA
Donation protected
HI EVERYONE. WE HAVE REACHED OUR GOAL AND WILL NO LONGER TAKE DONATIONS. THE VAN HAS BEEN PURCHASED AND WAS PRESENTED TO THE FAMILY AT THE MEMORIAL HALL - 4:30PM - SEPT 6. THE EVENT WAS COVERED BY GLOBAL NEWS AND THE WESTLOCK NEWS.
THANKING ALL THE DONORS AND SUPPORTERS ONCE AGAIN - THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT YOU - IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE.
My name is Laura Punko and I am Arianna’s Grandmother. Along with the Westlock Elks and Qi Creative, we are raising funds to purchase a Wheelchair Adaptive Van for Arianna. Her family has received time sensitive donations that covers the cost of adapting the van, but are short on the purchase price of the van itself. The vehicle has to meet stringent conditons and requirements for the modification, so only certain vans qualify. This family is in dire need and we thank you most humbly for anything you can do to help them. Accepting donations of $5 or more on Go Fund Me. Visa, MasterCard and Visa & MasterCard debit cards. For people who are not comfortable with donating online, we accept cheques. E-mail money transfers are also accepted, even cash. Ask for info.
Arianna Price is 5 years old and has a diagnosis of Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathic Brain Injury Secondary to Cardiac Arrest. She also has a Cortical Visual Impairment and a G-Tube (tube directly into her stomach) for feeding related to her condition. Arianna suffered this injury at the age of 14 months, having been previously healthy, and their lives have been drastically changed since then.
Due to her brain injury, she is fully dependent on caregivers for all mobility, transfers, care, hygiene, and activities of daily living. Arianna cannot hold her head up, needs extensive physical supports to sit up, and has almost no voluntary movement in her hands and legs. She is able to communicate to yes/no questions using facial expressions. Arianna is unable to assist with transfers, lifts, or mobility and is dependent on Charlene (her mother) for all of her daily activities (dressing, feeding, bathing, toileting). She has tilt in space wheelchair that is large and heavy, and does not fold down.
While Charlene does all she can to take care of Arianna and her exceptional needs, she finds herself needing an adapative van and would greatly appreciate any help you are able to provide.
Charlene lives in a hamlet about one hour outside Edmonton with Arianna and her older sister (Phaedra). Taking care of a child in Arianna’s condition is difficult for two parents and more than doubly difficult for a single parent. Charlene is unable to work because Arianna requires full time care, so she will never be able to purchase an ADAPTED VAN and only with your generosity will this happen.
Currently Charlene and her little ones do not have a vehicle, so they rely on her parents to drive them in their van. It’s an older van and is not adapted so she has to lift Arianna into a child’s car seat. Arianna is 45 lbs, and Charlene is finding it increasingly difficult to lift her into her seat. She has back problems and lifting her will likely not be safe for Charlene or Arianna in the next year or so and seeing her specialists in Edmonton would not be possible. The wheelchair also has to be lifted into the back of the van and it’s extremely heavy.
Charlene would love to give Arianna a better quality of life outside of the home and having a van would ensure that Arianna would be able to attend outings with her sister, like swimming, camping, birthday parties, visiting extended family, mini vacations etc. Even though Arianna is brain damaged, Charlene wants to give her a life as normal as possible. Having an ADAPTIVE VAN would secure her future transportation problem for outings and the many medical appointments in Edmonton.
They live 1 hour outside of Edmonton, and it is hard for Charlene to transport Arianna to see her medical specialists. The grandparents have to drive them there and take time off work to do so. This means that she has to prioritize her medical appointments and put off some of the less urgent ones until there is available transportation.
Arianna attended pre-school the past year, and it has been very difficult to get her to and from school, because of depending on others availability to drive her there and pick her up. This has impacted her attendance and learning. School bus transportation was not available for half days.
The closet town is about 15 minutes away, so even if they run out of something (like Tylenol for Arianna) she cannot simply run to the store to pick this up. Having an ADAPTIVE VAN would allow her to quickly run into town with the girls and pick up essentials, grocery shop, and for emergencies as well.
Having an adapted van would be a tremendous benefit to Arianna’s health, wellbeing and safety. The family would be able to share some new life experiences with her without causing her any harm or damage. She could be wheeled into the van in her wheelchair and no lifting involved.
Thanking you in advance for any assistance you can provide for this little family. They would be eternally grateful.
IF ARIANNA COULD TALK THIS IS THE STORY SHE WOULD TELL
“I was a happy carefree little toddler who loved to play with my sister Phaedra. I was crazy about food especially chocolate, I also loved kissing and hugging my favourite people, dancing to tunes on the radio and remotes were my favourite thing to play with.
Then one night in March 2014 that all changed and life hasn’t been the same since. I suddenly got very ill and Mom took me to the doctor first thing in the morning. Something terrible happened at the Doctor’s office, so he called the ambulance to take me to the Stollery Children’s Hospital. On the way there, I went into Cardiac Arrest, and the two paramedics in the ambulance worked for 25 minutes to start my little heart beating again. I was gone but they did not know the words GIVE UP. They gave me back my life.
The ambulance was redirected back to the nearest Hospital where I was to meet up with a medical team from the Stollery. While in the hospital, I went into cardiac arrest again, this time I was gone for 10 minutes. The doctor told my Mom, I was extremely ill, my heart was very weak and there was a chance I won’t make it through the day and to be prepared to make a tough decision. The medical team then took me to the Stollery.
Surprise to everyone, I woke up at midnight, and then later went into a coma. I wore two adult diapers and the sickness roared on, no one knew what was wrong with me until the morning of day 5, I had picked up a Rota Virus, very deadly for toddlers and babies.
Then my kidneys stopped working and I was terribly swollen (like a baby Michelin man), it took two nurses to open my eyes, so they could check them. I had to have dialysis for three days, during this period my kidneys healed up and I was taken off the iron kidney.
The medical staff said they did all they could for me, and now it was up to me if I lived or not. I was at death’s door, but I wanted to live and fought really hard to come back and on day 8, I woke up from my coma. Two days later, they said I would live. I was on the road to recovery.
I stayed in Intensive care for more than 5 weeks on life support. I had round the clock care and my Mom rarely left my side and my sister had to move in with Grandma and Grandpa. After I no longer needed intensive care and could breathe on my own they moved me to the 5th floor, where I spent another 3 weeks. Then it was home, sweet home.
I will never be able to talk, walk, run, eat or play ever again. My life as a child is limited to things I do on my own level, at school, at home and at play. I love cuddling, family playing with me, being read to and watching Little Baby Bum on You Tube. I have a different kind of life now, so we adjust. My Mom endearing calls me her forever baby. Little Boo Boo Bear. My family knows I’m still here, they just dig deeper to find me”
Arianna Price
Below are supporting documents from Trent Magis - Qi Creative and Kim Messmer - Early Learning Pembina Hills
Qi Creative Letter of Support - Wheelchair Accessible Van - 6 June 2018
Re: Arianna Price - DOB: 9 January, 2013
To whom it may concern,
Arianna Price is a 5 year old girl with a diagnosis of Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathic Brain Injury secondary to Cardiac Arrest. This injury happened at the age of 14 months, and since this time Arianna has been fully dependent on her caregivers for all her needs. Arianna is dependent on her caregivers for feeding, hygiene, toileting, self care, transfers, and mobility. She has very little independent or voluntary movement, and needs extensive physical support and assistance for all activities of daily living. Arianna is not able to hold her head up on her own, has almost no independent movement of her arms or legs, and needs back and side support to sit up.
I have been working with Arianna and her family for 2 years and understand the needs of the family and Arianna. I am writing to provide my support in their application to receive funding for the purchase of a wheelchair accessible van. The family is low income and would be unable to purchase a wheelchair accessible van without assistance. Arianna’s mother (Charlene) is dedicated to Arianna’s care and wellbeing, and as a single mother taking care of Arianna and her sister (Phaedra), Charlene faces financial difficulty to purchase a wheelchair accessible van. Arianna requires around the clock care, and Charlene has not been able to work and is receiving financial assistance to meet the family’s needs.
Arianna is dependent on her mother for all mobility. She has a tilt in space wheelchair with custom seating that provides extensive physical support for Arianna (head rest, lateral supports, custom seating and support straps). A standard car seat does not provide the support needed by Arianna now that she has started to outgrow most car seats. Arianna is large for her age, and with a weight of 45 lbs, her mother is finding it increasingly difficult to lift her into a car seat.
Charlene also has chronic back pain, and very soon it will no longer be safe for Charlene or Arianna to lift Arianna into the car seat. Charlene does not have a vehicle to transport Arianna, and the family relies on Arianna’s grandmother to help with transportation. I have observed how the family lifts Arianna and transports her in her grandmother’s van and car seat, and I do recommend that the family get a wheelchair accessible van to safely transport Arianna and her wheelchair. The van requires a rather large lift to get Arianna seated into the car seat, and this lift will soon be unsafe due to Arianna’s weight. The car seat will also very shortly be too small for Arianna.
I had the opportunity to support the family when looking at wheelchair accessible vans, and Arianna and her family would greatly benefit from having a wheelchair accessible van. A wheelchair accessible van will shortly become a necessity for
Arianna as she gets too large to lift into a car seat. The fact that the family also lives outside a major city without public wheelchair accessible transportation adds to the necessity of a wheelchair accessible van. There are no other options available for the family to transport Arianna and her wheelchair within her community. This has become more important this year with Arianna being registered in school but unable to attend some days when her grandmother is unable to drive her to school, and the school bus is unable to transport Arianna for the round trip to and from school.
For the above reasons, I support Arianna and her family in their application to receive funding for a wheelchair accessible van.
I thank you for your consideration in assisting this family. If you have any questions about Arianna and her family, please contact me.
Trent Magis, MScPT - Physical Therapist and Coach - Qi Creative Inc.
To Whom ItMay Concern:
My name is Kim Messmer ... I am the Early Learning Family Liaison for Pembina Hills Public Schools. I.have been working with Arianna and her family for almost two years now. Arianna has come a long way since I first met her.Arianna just had her 5th birthday the other day and along with getting older she is getting taller and heavier. She is beginning to get stronger holding her head up, showing some movement in her arms and legs and we are starting to hear some sounds and see some smiles from her.
This family is in dire need of assistance. I do family visits a couple times a month to their home 20 minutes from Westlock. I see a mom who is doing her best to take care of her kids. Parenting is hard and when you have a child with a severe disability it is 10 times harder.
Charlene is struggling because she must rely on her parents to help her get Arianna to school, to appointments and all the other times that she needs to get Arianna where she needs to be.
It would be a most generous, critical to the family's well being, if you would consider helping them achieve a new-found freedom to have the ability to go wherever they need to, whenever they need or want to.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Gratefully - Kim Messmer
THANKING ALL THE DONORS AND SUPPORTERS ONCE AGAIN - THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT YOU - IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE.
My name is Laura Punko and I am Arianna’s Grandmother. Along with the Westlock Elks and Qi Creative, we are raising funds to purchase a Wheelchair Adaptive Van for Arianna. Her family has received time sensitive donations that covers the cost of adapting the van, but are short on the purchase price of the van itself. The vehicle has to meet stringent conditons and requirements for the modification, so only certain vans qualify. This family is in dire need and we thank you most humbly for anything you can do to help them. Accepting donations of $5 or more on Go Fund Me. Visa, MasterCard and Visa & MasterCard debit cards. For people who are not comfortable with donating online, we accept cheques. E-mail money transfers are also accepted, even cash. Ask for info.
Arianna Price is 5 years old and has a diagnosis of Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathic Brain Injury Secondary to Cardiac Arrest. She also has a Cortical Visual Impairment and a G-Tube (tube directly into her stomach) for feeding related to her condition. Arianna suffered this injury at the age of 14 months, having been previously healthy, and their lives have been drastically changed since then.
Due to her brain injury, she is fully dependent on caregivers for all mobility, transfers, care, hygiene, and activities of daily living. Arianna cannot hold her head up, needs extensive physical supports to sit up, and has almost no voluntary movement in her hands and legs. She is able to communicate to yes/no questions using facial expressions. Arianna is unable to assist with transfers, lifts, or mobility and is dependent on Charlene (her mother) for all of her daily activities (dressing, feeding, bathing, toileting). She has tilt in space wheelchair that is large and heavy, and does not fold down.
While Charlene does all she can to take care of Arianna and her exceptional needs, she finds herself needing an adapative van and would greatly appreciate any help you are able to provide.
Charlene lives in a hamlet about one hour outside Edmonton with Arianna and her older sister (Phaedra). Taking care of a child in Arianna’s condition is difficult for two parents and more than doubly difficult for a single parent. Charlene is unable to work because Arianna requires full time care, so she will never be able to purchase an ADAPTED VAN and only with your generosity will this happen.
Currently Charlene and her little ones do not have a vehicle, so they rely on her parents to drive them in their van. It’s an older van and is not adapted so she has to lift Arianna into a child’s car seat. Arianna is 45 lbs, and Charlene is finding it increasingly difficult to lift her into her seat. She has back problems and lifting her will likely not be safe for Charlene or Arianna in the next year or so and seeing her specialists in Edmonton would not be possible. The wheelchair also has to be lifted into the back of the van and it’s extremely heavy.
Charlene would love to give Arianna a better quality of life outside of the home and having a van would ensure that Arianna would be able to attend outings with her sister, like swimming, camping, birthday parties, visiting extended family, mini vacations etc. Even though Arianna is brain damaged, Charlene wants to give her a life as normal as possible. Having an ADAPTIVE VAN would secure her future transportation problem for outings and the many medical appointments in Edmonton.
They live 1 hour outside of Edmonton, and it is hard for Charlene to transport Arianna to see her medical specialists. The grandparents have to drive them there and take time off work to do so. This means that she has to prioritize her medical appointments and put off some of the less urgent ones until there is available transportation.
Arianna attended pre-school the past year, and it has been very difficult to get her to and from school, because of depending on others availability to drive her there and pick her up. This has impacted her attendance and learning. School bus transportation was not available for half days.
The closet town is about 15 minutes away, so even if they run out of something (like Tylenol for Arianna) she cannot simply run to the store to pick this up. Having an ADAPTIVE VAN would allow her to quickly run into town with the girls and pick up essentials, grocery shop, and for emergencies as well.
Having an adapted van would be a tremendous benefit to Arianna’s health, wellbeing and safety. The family would be able to share some new life experiences with her without causing her any harm or damage. She could be wheeled into the van in her wheelchair and no lifting involved.
Thanking you in advance for any assistance you can provide for this little family. They would be eternally grateful.
IF ARIANNA COULD TALK THIS IS THE STORY SHE WOULD TELL
“I was a happy carefree little toddler who loved to play with my sister Phaedra. I was crazy about food especially chocolate, I also loved kissing and hugging my favourite people, dancing to tunes on the radio and remotes were my favourite thing to play with.
Then one night in March 2014 that all changed and life hasn’t been the same since. I suddenly got very ill and Mom took me to the doctor first thing in the morning. Something terrible happened at the Doctor’s office, so he called the ambulance to take me to the Stollery Children’s Hospital. On the way there, I went into Cardiac Arrest, and the two paramedics in the ambulance worked for 25 minutes to start my little heart beating again. I was gone but they did not know the words GIVE UP. They gave me back my life.
The ambulance was redirected back to the nearest Hospital where I was to meet up with a medical team from the Stollery. While in the hospital, I went into cardiac arrest again, this time I was gone for 10 minutes. The doctor told my Mom, I was extremely ill, my heart was very weak and there was a chance I won’t make it through the day and to be prepared to make a tough decision. The medical team then took me to the Stollery.
Surprise to everyone, I woke up at midnight, and then later went into a coma. I wore two adult diapers and the sickness roared on, no one knew what was wrong with me until the morning of day 5, I had picked up a Rota Virus, very deadly for toddlers and babies.
Then my kidneys stopped working and I was terribly swollen (like a baby Michelin man), it took two nurses to open my eyes, so they could check them. I had to have dialysis for three days, during this period my kidneys healed up and I was taken off the iron kidney.
The medical staff said they did all they could for me, and now it was up to me if I lived or not. I was at death’s door, but I wanted to live and fought really hard to come back and on day 8, I woke up from my coma. Two days later, they said I would live. I was on the road to recovery.
I stayed in Intensive care for more than 5 weeks on life support. I had round the clock care and my Mom rarely left my side and my sister had to move in with Grandma and Grandpa. After I no longer needed intensive care and could breathe on my own they moved me to the 5th floor, where I spent another 3 weeks. Then it was home, sweet home.
I will never be able to talk, walk, run, eat or play ever again. My life as a child is limited to things I do on my own level, at school, at home and at play. I love cuddling, family playing with me, being read to and watching Little Baby Bum on You Tube. I have a different kind of life now, so we adjust. My Mom endearing calls me her forever baby. Little Boo Boo Bear. My family knows I’m still here, they just dig deeper to find me”
Arianna Price
Below are supporting documents from Trent Magis - Qi Creative and Kim Messmer - Early Learning Pembina Hills
Qi Creative Letter of Support - Wheelchair Accessible Van - 6 June 2018
Re: Arianna Price - DOB: 9 January, 2013
To whom it may concern,
Arianna Price is a 5 year old girl with a diagnosis of Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathic Brain Injury secondary to Cardiac Arrest. This injury happened at the age of 14 months, and since this time Arianna has been fully dependent on her caregivers for all her needs. Arianna is dependent on her caregivers for feeding, hygiene, toileting, self care, transfers, and mobility. She has very little independent or voluntary movement, and needs extensive physical support and assistance for all activities of daily living. Arianna is not able to hold her head up on her own, has almost no independent movement of her arms or legs, and needs back and side support to sit up.
I have been working with Arianna and her family for 2 years and understand the needs of the family and Arianna. I am writing to provide my support in their application to receive funding for the purchase of a wheelchair accessible van. The family is low income and would be unable to purchase a wheelchair accessible van without assistance. Arianna’s mother (Charlene) is dedicated to Arianna’s care and wellbeing, and as a single mother taking care of Arianna and her sister (Phaedra), Charlene faces financial difficulty to purchase a wheelchair accessible van. Arianna requires around the clock care, and Charlene has not been able to work and is receiving financial assistance to meet the family’s needs.
Arianna is dependent on her mother for all mobility. She has a tilt in space wheelchair with custom seating that provides extensive physical support for Arianna (head rest, lateral supports, custom seating and support straps). A standard car seat does not provide the support needed by Arianna now that she has started to outgrow most car seats. Arianna is large for her age, and with a weight of 45 lbs, her mother is finding it increasingly difficult to lift her into a car seat.
Charlene also has chronic back pain, and very soon it will no longer be safe for Charlene or Arianna to lift Arianna into the car seat. Charlene does not have a vehicle to transport Arianna, and the family relies on Arianna’s grandmother to help with transportation. I have observed how the family lifts Arianna and transports her in her grandmother’s van and car seat, and I do recommend that the family get a wheelchair accessible van to safely transport Arianna and her wheelchair. The van requires a rather large lift to get Arianna seated into the car seat, and this lift will soon be unsafe due to Arianna’s weight. The car seat will also very shortly be too small for Arianna.
I had the opportunity to support the family when looking at wheelchair accessible vans, and Arianna and her family would greatly benefit from having a wheelchair accessible van. A wheelchair accessible van will shortly become a necessity for
Arianna as she gets too large to lift into a car seat. The fact that the family also lives outside a major city without public wheelchair accessible transportation adds to the necessity of a wheelchair accessible van. There are no other options available for the family to transport Arianna and her wheelchair within her community. This has become more important this year with Arianna being registered in school but unable to attend some days when her grandmother is unable to drive her to school, and the school bus is unable to transport Arianna for the round trip to and from school.
For the above reasons, I support Arianna and her family in their application to receive funding for a wheelchair accessible van.
I thank you for your consideration in assisting this family. If you have any questions about Arianna and her family, please contact me.
Trent Magis, MScPT - Physical Therapist and Coach - Qi Creative Inc.
To Whom ItMay Concern:
My name is Kim Messmer ... I am the Early Learning Family Liaison for Pembina Hills Public Schools. I.have been working with Arianna and her family for almost two years now. Arianna has come a long way since I first met her.Arianna just had her 5th birthday the other day and along with getting older she is getting taller and heavier. She is beginning to get stronger holding her head up, showing some movement in her arms and legs and we are starting to hear some sounds and see some smiles from her.
This family is in dire need of assistance. I do family visits a couple times a month to their home 20 minutes from Westlock. I see a mom who is doing her best to take care of her kids. Parenting is hard and when you have a child with a severe disability it is 10 times harder.
Charlene is struggling because she must rely on her parents to help her get Arianna to school, to appointments and all the other times that she needs to get Arianna where she needs to be.
It would be a most generous, critical to the family's well being, if you would consider helping them achieve a new-found freedom to have the ability to go wherever they need to, whenever they need or want to.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Gratefully - Kim Messmer
Organizer
Laura Punko
Organizer
Pickardville, AB
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