Sweet Cora is only 2 ½ years old, but she has already faced more challenges than most of us will in a lifetime.

At the end of June, Cora woke up one morning and everything had changed overnight. She was no longer her happy self or the usual perfect sleeper. She became incredibly frustrated, violent, and angry. She also began struggling to fall asleep and stay asleep at night. After weeks and weeks of no change, her mom and dad sought out help from Cora’s pediatrician. After many tests, including a hearing tests and an assessment from a speech therapist, she was diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) at the end of August.

CAS is rare neurological disorder that makes it incredibly hard for her to learn how to speak, as there’s a disconnect from her brain to the muscles in her mouth and neck. This disconnect stops her from being able to form certain sounds or letters. Cora's parents, Dave and Nicole Ripley, were incredibly lucky to get Cora into a speech therapist quickly. Despite her struggles, she works so hard in therapy to try and say the words most children her age can easily express.

CAS is not something she can grow out of. This is something Cora will have to work at for the rest of her life. She will have to think about how she moves her muscles to speak. She will require extensive and ongoing speech therapy for the foreseeable future to give her a fighting chance at being able to speak clearly.

Our healthcare system only covers so much. The waitlist for a Speech Therapist who is covered by Manitoba Health is over two years, and privately, there is still a waitlist. CAS requires fast intervention in order to make the most impact and Nicole and Dave were fortunate enough to get Cora into a private therapist due to a cancellation by another family. These weekly appointments are costly, and insurance plans have run out in just a few appointments.

Two weeks after Cora's CAS diagnosis, just as Cora and her family were beginning to adjust to this new journey, Dave & Nicole noticed signs that something else seemed wrong. They took her in to the pediatrician again after Cora stopped eating and was drinking excessive amounts of water. Once again their world was turned upside down with another life-changing diagnosis: Type 1 Diabetes.

Cora was rushed to an Endocrinologist to asses her immediately as it wasn’t clear if she would need to be hospitalized. Cora was so fortunate that her parents caught the signs just before she went in to DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis, a life-threatening, acute complication of diabetes). At only 2 years old, she now requires around-the-clock monitoring of her blood sugar, insulin injections, and constant vigilance to keep her safe and healthy.

These two diagnoses together mean a lifetime of extra care, therapies, medical equipment, and specialists. But more than that, they mean a mom who needs to be by her child’s side. Nicole has taken time away from work to manage Cora’s daily medical needs, therapy appointments, and the emotional support she so deeply deserves. Unfortunately, while the need for her to be home grows, so do the medical costs—therapy sessions, diabetes supplies, travel for appointments, and the everyday costs of raising a child with complex needs.

I, Alicia Stick, one of Nicole’s oldest friends, am humbly reaching out on behalf of Cora and her family for help. Dave and Nicole are the kind of people that have and will move mountains for other people to help them, and I know they would never ask for themselves, so I’m asking on their behalf, with their blessings.

Every donation will go directly toward: Speech Therapy sessions for Apraxia, Diabetes supplies and equipment (glucose monitors and pumps, emergency kits), medical appointments, and travel expenses.

Cora is the brightest light, and all who meet her can see her joy—full of courage, love, and determination. She deserves the chance to grow up healthy, safe, and able to find her voice. Your support, no matter the size, will help lift a heavy burden and give her the resources she needs to thrive. If you are not able to give financially, sharing this page with others would mean the world to us and the Ripley's. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for walking this journey with The Ripley family. With your help, we can make sure Cora has the tools, care, and love she needs to keep moving forward.