Help the Gencarelli Family

As many of you may know, we have a family in White Meadow Lake whose 7th grade daughter, Ava, has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (otherwise known as Brittle Bone disease). She has had over 15 surgeries and numerous bone fractures/breaks since her birth. The Gencarelli family are beloved members of our neighborhood and handle all of life’s challenges with humor and love. Ava’s parents, Alisha and Anthony, both work full time jobs while supporting Ava’s medical needs and providing a wonderful life for both of their daughters. They juggle their jobs and parenting all while also spending many hours driving her to treatments in Delaware and her specialists in NYC. They have worked throughout the years to make their home as easily accessible as possible for their daughter through minor modifications here and there.

 

When Ava isn’t injured, you can see her dancing, cheering and doing typical 12-year-old activities. However, her frequent broken bones cause her to require the use of a wheelchair many weeks/months throughout each year. Ava most recently had surgery on October 5th and is currently in a wheelchair. She has a major surgery scheduled for this January which will leave her wheelchair bound for 3 months.

 

Alisha and Anthony never ask for help despite their challenges. But as her neighbors, we notice the difficulties they face everyday with accessibility issues around the home. Their biggest challenge is little to no accessibility from their driveway to the inside of the home. They have always carried their daughter in and out of the car. It is a challenging home due to the steep slope of the driveway. The money from this fundraiser will go directly to the modifications needed to allow Ava (and her parents) the independence and dignity that every 7th grade girl should have.

 

Monti Landscaping has graciously offered to assist with this project knowing it is a fundraising effort. They will be able to level the top of their driveway so Ava can get from the car to her front door, install a wooden guardrail and fix the driveway. We are in the process of researching chair lift companies to install a chair lift to get Ava from the first floor of her home to her bedroom on the second floor. In addition, several ramps will be purchased for use around the home. Our goal is to raise the funds needed for these adaptations.

 

This may be an impossible project, but we never know unless we try! I would love to see a bright, young woman with an incredible attitude gain the independence that she so deserves!