Brianna's Wheels

Brianna Silveira is a 14 year old girl with Cerebral Palsy who currently resides in Bristol, Rhode Island. Brianna is physically disabled and utilizes a wheelchair for mobility. Brianna was born at 27 weeks gestation and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 6 months. Brianna has made so many gains throughout the years. We were once told she would never be able to write and by 4th grade she was able to write in cursive. She achieved High Honors for all 3 years of middle school.

This year Brianna started high school. As a freshman she wants to do what all other kids her age are doing. Football games, movies, mall, dances and after school activities, she is truly your typical teenage girl. The only difference is that she is in a wheelchair. The difficult thing is that Brianna has a power wheel chair which she uses for school everyday. She is only able to use this chair because the bus comes and picks her up everyday for school. When she is at home and on the weekends she is forced to use her manual wheelchair which leaves her completely dependent on her family. This makes it very difficult to do all of those things she wants to do as a high school freshman. When she uses her power wheelchair she is almost independent, she can keep up with her friends and enjoy herself without having mom or another adult by her side.

With this being said we are looking at getting a handicap accessible van to help her do all activities without any limitations. This surprisingly is a huge financial decision for this family. The cost of this is double what you would pay for your normal caravan. It's like buying two cars. This year we plan to work hard to help lessen the financial burden this may cause. Getting an accessible vehicle will help her accessibility, give her independence, and improve her quality of life.