Gianna, my son's stepdaughter, was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Type II (SMA) when she was 18 months old. SMA is a disease that robs people of physical strength by affecting the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord, taking away the ability to walk, eat, or breathe. It is the number one cause of death in infants.

Gianna is able to sit up without help, but she is unable to walk and requires a wheelchair. As she gets older, new challenges arise. This year, Gianna was diagnosed with Osteopenia, or low bone density. She has started a new treatment for this condition at Yale, where she undergoes bone infusions every 3 months. She continues to have annual scoliosis surgery at Columbia every year. She also undergoes spinal column injections. She travels often to doctors and hospitals. The older Gianna gets, the harder it is to lift her and to travel with her. Having a wheelchair accessible car would provide easy, safe, comfortable travel for her.

With all the challenges that Gianna faces, she continues to keep her ever present smile. She loves her large family and her friends, and she participates in everything that she can. A wheelchair accessible car with a lift would allow Gianna and her family to safely move about and would give Gianna some independence.