“When I was 10 years old I was diagnosed with a progressive disability called muscular dystrophy. Over the next few years, I lost the ability to walk and drive my car. I wanted to go off to college on my own but, affording different adaptive equipment and a wheelchair-friendly car was out of budget. In the photo are my grandparents, Pete & Jeanne. I remember the day I got the call that my grandparents wanted to help me to get a smart drive power assist for my wheelchair and a wheelchair-accessible van, I immediately cried tears of joy.
This act of kindness completely changed my life and gave me the freedom to be independent and continue to go on the life journey that I so badly wanted. I will forever be thankful for how kind and generous people my grandparents are to me, and to others in the community. Now, I have a nonprofit called Wheely Big Dreams that gives adaptive equipment to the disabled community, I am a disability advocate, and training in graduate school to become a mental health counselor that specializes in working with those with disabilities.” – Amanda Steijlen (@amandasteijlen/@wheelybigdreams)
https://www.wheelybigdreams.com/
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