Wheelchairs 4 Kids Presents Wheelchair Carrier for 6-Year-Old Child

  

Thanks to Top of the Bay Kiwanis

  

Wheelchairs 4 Kids recently presented 6-year-old Delaney McCartney and her family with an installed wheelchair carrier for her mom’s van.

 Delaney is an adorable 6-year-old who fancies the color pink, rock and roll and baseball!  She is a real dare devil and enjoys flying high in the swings at the park.  She is the Tampa Bay Rays number one fan and loves going to the games with her parents.  She plays on the Gulf Coast Miracle League, a baseball league for children with disabilities.

Delaney was born with a rare condition called Type One Fiber Disproportion, a congenital myopathy. It is one of the diseases that falls under the muscular dystrophy umbrella. There is currently no cure or effective treatment. Delaney has several seizures daily, is unable to walk, and is nonverbal. She also experiences respiratory problems and uses a feeding tube for nutrition. She spent the first year of her life in the hospital and her parents were told to prepare for the worst. But Delaney is a fighter and she has defied all the odds.

Delaney’s wheelchair is bulky and was difficult to store in the back of their minivan.   Her grandparents, who are very involved in Delaney’s life, were not able to take her to the park because it was too difficult to transport her chair.   Custom Mobility of Largo greatly discounted and installed the wheelchair carrier.   “Custom Mobility has been a great partner to Wheelchairs 4 Kids.  They go above and beyond to help us with our mission”, stated Madeline Robinson, Executive Director of Wheelchairs 4 Kids.

Wheelchairs 4 Kids arranged for Hitch King to install a class 3 hitch to the van and then had Custom Mobility install the lift.  Delaney and her parents along with her grandmother arrived at Custom Mobility where the automatic carrier was installed.  Photographer, J. David Wright was there to photograph the festivities while the family, Wheelchairs 4 Kids Board Member, Jim Grant and Executive Director, Madeline Robinson anxiously waited for the installation to be completed.

“When they drove around the corner it was amazing,” said Grant, “The tears were almost immediate.”  “I’m proud to be associated with this organization.  They really walk the walk, not just talk about it.  It was great to see the impact first hand”.

“You have no idea how much this changes everything.  Thank you”, Patti, Delaney’s mom said with tears streaming down her face.

The Kiwanis Club of the Top of the Bay played a tremendous role in the success of this project according to Robinson.  “They sponsored the entire endeavor.  The Kiwanis Club has a long history of serving children with disabilities.  It is one of their primary areas of focus and we are so grateful for their support”.

Delaney’s parents quickly learned how to operate the new carrier and Gary of Custom Mobility was proud to be able to hand over the lift’s keys to Patti.  We hope that they enjoy the new carrier and that Delaney has many more fun days on the swings at the park with grandma!