While writing an article, I interviewed nurse Cathy Canete about caring for her daughter Adrianna who requires 24-hour care due to her complex medical needs. I felt compelled to rally our community to give this family some much-needed support to get Adrianna the ceiling lift she needs now for inside her home.

 

Adrianna Cañete Costache is a cheerful, bright-eyed, five-year-old little girl with an infectious smile and a love and appreciation for music. She has Down syndrome, partial deafblindness, and communicates expressively with the use of her body language. She underwent heart surgery at four months old. In Adrianna’s first month of life, she suffered a stroke that rendered the left side of her body semi-paralyzed. The stroke led to a series of ongoing seizures that evolved from one type of seizure to another. Both of her lungs collapsed from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), which almost took her life. Adrianna has faced pneumonia, in addition to recurring reflux that caused an abdominal hernia needing surgical repair. For a time, she was lethargic and stopped waking up. Her neurosurgeon suggested a hemispherectomy, a surgical procedure that would disconnect the right side of her brain from the left. There were complications from the surgery, fluid accumulated in her brain, and she was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, which needed to be treated with a VP shunt to drain the fluids. Unfortunately, the shunt malfunctioned, and this marked the start of thirty brain surgeries.

 

As a qualified nurse, Cathy cannot work due to caring for Adrianna full-time. Her husband, Marcel, has the demanding job of building superintendent. Adrianna isn’t ambulatory or mobile, and as she continues to grow, Catherine has been exploring purchasing an accessible van, as well as a ceiling lift option, but the price tag for the lift alone is steep—$11,000. Cathy is beginning to experience some issues with her back due to carrying Adrianna and is finding the task increasingly difficult. The couple has no family in Canada and a small support system.

 

Please consider contributing so we can give this loving family "a lift" and the support they deserve!