This fundraiser is for a new wheelchair for Abigail. Abby is a 15 year old freshman in high school who was born with spina bifida. Spina bifida, Latin for open spine, is a neural tube defect affecting 1 in 10,000 live births and it can vary from mild and unnoticed to extremely debilitating. In a fetus the brain and spinal cord form first, at about eleven days gestation, before there is even a heartbeat. Sometimes the spine doesn’t fully close and a hole is left and sometimes the spinal cord pokes through that hole as the fetus grows. In Abby’s case the outer bones of the spine did not develop and her spinal cord was protruding but enclosed in a sac, a myelomeningocele. After Abby was born she had surgery to remove the sac, push the spinal cord back into the spinal canal, and close the opening. Spina bifida caused Abigail to be paralyzed from the waist down and have hydrocephalus (water on the brain), a chiarri II malformation (brain in the neck), neurogenic bladder and bowel, scoliosis, kyphosis, and osteopenia.

Despite all of this Abigail is an amazing child who has persevered against all odds and we need help getting her a new wheelchair.

Abigail’s current chair is about six years old and falling apart a little at a time. We have replaced what we can but then growth happened and she has simply outgrown her chair. Abigail needs a custom wheelchair that she can push herself in varied areas with a seat designed to prevent pressure sores after long sitting, One that is lightweight, that she can transfer in and out of easily, and compact in a way that she can maneuver the crowded halls of high school and eventually college.

A few words from Abby herself

“Hi I’m Abby and I like singing, reading, gaming, and lately writing and drawing. I love to read and write fantasy, one of my favorite authors is Chris Colfer. I’m currently writing a fantasy story that I hope to turn into a book, I’ve been working on it for almost two years, which is crazy. I’ve been in a wheelchair since before I was two. Being in a wheelchair, I don’t really now that I can say it’s good because I don’t know anything else. Other kids I know in wheelchairs can walk a little or could walk before something happened but I’ve been paralyzed since I was born. I would love to one day get into wheelchair sports and or dancing. I need a chair that can help me do that, compact, lightweight, and easy to move. I would really appreciate it if anyone could help me do that. Not only would you be helping me get a new chair but you would help me have a chance to follow those dreams.”