Harmony needs a van
Donation protected
For those of you who do not know Harmony, I thought I should give you a bit more background as to why we are trying to raise this money.
Harmony was born with a brain injury. While in the NICU, she sustained a second brain injury when she coded during a failed extubation (removal of a breathing tube). As a result, she has severe Cerebral Palsy. Her cognitive development is hard to determine due to her physical limitations, though it's clear she understands quite a lot that's going on around her. Her physical development is about that of a newborn, though she is a 36lb 4 year old. She does not have complete head control, cannot sit or stand or talk.
Because of all of this, Harmony is in a wheelchair. When she first got her chair, we bought a minivan. She was still small enough that she needed to ride in her carseat, and we put her wheelchair in the back. She is almost to the point of outgrowing her carseat, and it's getting more and more difficult to get her in and out. It's especially difficult in poor weather, as we have to move her from carseat to wheelchair and back, which takes some time to get her situated, buckled in, and covered up. We end up shying away from going out in less than perfect weather unless we have to. We sometimes "make a run for it," where one of us carries her and the other pushes the chair indoors, then we put her in the chair at that point. But the heavier she gets, the harder that plan becomes. We need an adapted van where she can just roll right in and out in her chair.
After doing some investigative work, I found a Mobility company an hour away which has agreed to modify our existing van. They will drop the floor and add a side ramp, which will allow Harmony to ride in her wheelchair. We can bundle her up indoors, and roll her in and out of the van. It will allow Harmony to be able to enjoy going places, and to be able to go on so many more adventures than she is able to now!
Harmony was born with a brain injury. While in the NICU, she sustained a second brain injury when she coded during a failed extubation (removal of a breathing tube). As a result, she has severe Cerebral Palsy. Her cognitive development is hard to determine due to her physical limitations, though it's clear she understands quite a lot that's going on around her. Her physical development is about that of a newborn, though she is a 36lb 4 year old. She does not have complete head control, cannot sit or stand or talk.
Because of all of this, Harmony is in a wheelchair. When she first got her chair, we bought a minivan. She was still small enough that she needed to ride in her carseat, and we put her wheelchair in the back. She is almost to the point of outgrowing her carseat, and it's getting more and more difficult to get her in and out. It's especially difficult in poor weather, as we have to move her from carseat to wheelchair and back, which takes some time to get her situated, buckled in, and covered up. We end up shying away from going out in less than perfect weather unless we have to. We sometimes "make a run for it," where one of us carries her and the other pushes the chair indoors, then we put her in the chair at that point. But the heavier she gets, the harder that plan becomes. We need an adapted van where she can just roll right in and out in her chair.
After doing some investigative work, I found a Mobility company an hour away which has agreed to modify our existing van. They will drop the floor and add a side ramp, which will allow Harmony to ride in her wheelchair. We can bundle her up indoors, and roll her in and out of the van. It will allow Harmony to be able to enjoy going places, and to be able to go on so many more adventures than she is able to now!
Organizer
Laura Straatmeyer Wagner
Organizer
Lincoln, NE
