Wheelchair Van for Stella

7 years ago Dan and Moonrise Joseph welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Stella, into this world. Sweet Stella's brain was compromised in utero leaving her with severe cerebral palsy. Stella is a quadriplegic and
uses a wheelchair for mobility. This wonderful family is in need of a
special wheelchair ramp van to safely transport Stella.

Stella is an intelligent and vibrant little girl with a beautiful smile. She is currently learning how to navigate a power wheelchair using head switches and a joystick, which gives her greater independence, but a power wheelchair weighs over 300 pounds and cannot be lifted.

Although Moonrise doesn't wear her diagnosis of Ehler's Danlos
Hypermobility Syndrome on her sleeve, she deals with constant pain and joint issues. Hypermobility means her joints dislocate easily under the physical stress of lifting her disabled daughter Stella and her wheelchair.

It's common for parents of children with disabilities to push their
limits, both physically and mentally, in order to do what needs to be done. There are so many aspects of parenting that can't be alleviated
by a community of friends, but one of the things we can do is help this wonderful family get into a wheelchair ramp van so that they no longer have to lift Stella, and her chair, in order to travel. 

For a child like Stella, a wheelchair is not just a piece of equipment, it's actually an extension of her body, the way she moves through the world and interacts with it. For this family, a wheelchair ramp van is not a luxury, it's a necessity.

Stella is receiving a generous grant from The Steelman Family Foundation to help purchase a wheelchair ramp van but the Joseph family still needs to raise an additional $35,000.