Keep Gabriella Smiling Again
Donation protected
Gabriella is now 15! She is a loving mischievous teenager, full of humor and a constant source of laughter who lightens up any room she gets in. She also has a severe case of CP and requiring care 24h/7, which Celine her mom has been providing tirelessly over the past 15 years.
After 24 years in the San Francisco Bay area, Celine needs to go back home, to France with Gabriella. After her divorce a few years ago, it has become challenging financially for them to stay in Larkspur, and with her dad's passing, Celine felt too far away from her family. It also clarified that Gabriella may need her family around in case anything happens to her mom, so it is time for her to learn to navigate the French culture and language before she is an adult. With Gabby being soon a young adult, the french system may be able to provide a different better-adapted kind of care both education wise and healthcare wise.
However important that move is, it is challenging in many aspects: emotionally, physically, and financially. Leaving the US social service environment for special kids and learning to navigate a completely different one - a french one at that - to recreate the necessary support network for Gabriella is by itself a complicated endeavor.
Add to it moving overseas, with a ton of big specialized equipment, finding the right place to live, setting it up functionally, buying new equipment adapted to the new environment including a vehicle adapted to Gabby's wheelchair... Doing all that while taking care of a daughter who requires 24h/7 care and searching for an income source at the same time is a herculean task!
Celine and Gabriella are boarding their plane back on January 25, just a few days from now !!! They have managed to do a lot on their own so far. The funds we are raising will help them cover their remaining debts in the US, help them land on their feet, catch their breath, find their next home, and keep all around them smiling forever after.
Here is a link to a video that Gabriella created on her own in 2016 to introduce herself
After 24 years in the San Francisco Bay area, Celine needs to go back home, to France with Gabriella. After her divorce a few years ago, it has become challenging financially for them to stay in Larkspur, and with her dad's passing, Celine felt too far away from her family. It also clarified that Gabriella may need her family around in case anything happens to her mom, so it is time for her to learn to navigate the French culture and language before she is an adult. With Gabby being soon a young adult, the french system may be able to provide a different better-adapted kind of care both education wise and healthcare wise.
However important that move is, it is challenging in many aspects: emotionally, physically, and financially. Leaving the US social service environment for special kids and learning to navigate a completely different one - a french one at that - to recreate the necessary support network for Gabriella is by itself a complicated endeavor.
Add to it moving overseas, with a ton of big specialized equipment, finding the right place to live, setting it up functionally, buying new equipment adapted to the new environment including a vehicle adapted to Gabby's wheelchair... Doing all that while taking care of a daughter who requires 24h/7 care and searching for an income source at the same time is a herculean task!
Celine and Gabriella are boarding their plane back on January 25, just a few days from now !!! They have managed to do a lot on their own so far. The funds we are raising will help them cover their remaining debts in the US, help them land on their feet, catch their breath, find their next home, and keep all around them smiling forever after.
Here is a link to a video that Gabriella created on her own in 2016 to introduce herself
Co-organizers (3)
MarcAndre Olivier
Organizer
San Rafael, CA
Celine Meunier
Beneficiary
Nathalie Salles
Co-organizer