A Blessing for Alannah

Meet Alannah (or Stinkbug as her daddy likes to call her).

A strong-willed 5-year-old who was born with Down Syndrome. While we’ve been fortunate that Alannah has not had some of the major health issues that come with a diagnosis of Down Syndrome, she does suffer from low muscle tone as well as an increasing amount of sensory regulation issues (as well as several other things). Low muscle tone makes it more difficult for Alannah to navigate the world around her independently or walk long distances. She gets overwhelmed easily around people or loud noises and uses the canopy on her stroller to help regulate herself and get relief from people and sounds. Alannah also elopes and disappears extremely fast. She does not always understand safety risks and tends to dart off at the most inconvenient times like in parking lots or doctors' offices. There are many circumstances where she needs to be in a stroller of some sort to keep her safe.

“Why not just use a stroller?”

I knew you were going to ask that. Well, we have been. But Alannah has outgrown all regular strollers. There are special needs strollers available, but they are incredibly expensive, and bulky and wouldn’t suit the needs of our family since we also need somewhere to put Ollie.

“So, what’s the solution?”

The solution is a stroller wagon! (https://larktale.com/products/2023-caravan-stroller-wagon) This stroller wagon features a 200lb weight capacity, which means it will last us for years as both children can ride in it. It also has a canopy and a rain cover which will allow Alannah to use the stroller wagon as a “safe place” to hide when she gets overwhelmed in large, crowded places. It also collapses down smaller than a special needs stroller so it will fit in our vehicles.

“Where do I come in?”

I’m glad you asked. We need your help. We’ve had a lot of extra medical expenses this year from multiple sleep studies, surgery and several new medical diagnoses that we were not expecting. While normally we would just save up to get the wagon ourselves, she has already outgrown the strollers we have, so we need something sooner, rather than later. ALL money received will go to the stroller wagon, with any extra money raised being set aside for future medical expenses for Alannah.

Our little girl has been an extraordinary blessing in our life and the lives of others. Now we’re asking for you to be a blessing to her.