Miracles Made

Enzo’s story is a beautiful reminder of the power of perseverance, the importance of accessibility, and the joy that shines through even the toughest challenges. Maddie’s Miracles is proud to have played a small part in helping Enzo and his incredible family continue their journey with hope and strength.

Alesia is 12 years old and has had Cerebral Palsy since birth it has been an extreme challenge simply managing the day-to-day tasks and activities. Alesia has no control or support of her lower body. She does have an adaptive car seat. However, it causes her extreme discomfort. The task of simply transporting her to the numerous appointments she has throughout the week can be heart-aching to watch. We have had to cancel appointments and cancel on family gatherings simply because Alesia is too uncomfortable to leave the house without her chair. The vehicle will help us tremendously, not only in transporting her to and from her appointments, but will also allow us to bring Alesia’s wheelchair along in hopes she will be eager to head out and do more.  Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of neurological disorders that affect movement, muscle tone, and posture. It is caused by damage to the developing brain, often before or during birth, or in early infancy. The condition can vary in severity, with some individuals experiencing mild coordination issues, while others may have significant physical and intellectual challenges. Symptoms can include difficulty with walking, speaking, and fine motor skills. Although there is no cure for cerebral palsy, treatments such as physical therapy, medication, and assistive devices can help improve quality of life and independence.

Niya is a happy girly girl who loves pink and spending time with her family. She has a large family of eight brothers and sisters who always make her smile and laugh. She loves funny noises, listening to The Boxcar children’s books, and loves being outside. Niya faces lots of challenges with her mental and physical disabilities. She was born prematurely at 29 weeks with peri ventricular leukomalacia. This is damage to the brain that resulted in spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and cortical visual impairment. She currently uses a manual wheelchair, a stander; to help her stand and bear weight, a gait trainer; to help her take steps, an activity chair; for feeding and participating in family time, a handicap accessible vehicle for transportation, and a medical grade hi low bed for assisting with transfers and safe sleeping. She uses all this equipment daily. Niya’s family reached out to Maddie’s Miracles for assistance with a ceiling lift to help transport her to her handicap accessible bathroom. The family needed the lift as Niya is getting older and will continue to grow. Transferring her in and out of the bed and shower chair was getting more difficult and would continue to worsen as she got older and bigger. The safest and less strenuous option was a ceiling lift. The lift was denied several times by the family’s insurance company. A ceiling lift is quoted to cost anywhere from $7,000 to $12,000 which is not affordable so that is when the family decided to seek help elsewhere. Once Maddie’s Miracles read their submission we decided to meet the family. Within two minutes of meeting Niya and her beautiful smile and spunky personality we knew she her family needed the lift and decided on providing it for her and her family as our next miracle. The ceiling lift was installed by Laurel Medical on September 24th, 2024. It took less than two days to have the lift fully installed and ready for use. The family told us immediately after it was installed how much Niya loved it and how it has helped them tremendously. It has allowed them to provide a safe mode of transfer to and from her bathroom. Niya always enjoys taking her zipline and always has a huge smile on her face when she’s in it.

Declan is diagnosed with TARP Syndrome, which is a rare genetic condition that mainly affects boys and is caused by changes in the RBM10 gene on the X chromosome. The syndrome itself is a spectrum, varying in how it presents itself in each case. It is marked by several health problems, including clubfoot (a twisting of the foot), heart defects, issues with jaw and palate development (like a small lower jaw and cleft palate), and abnormal blood vessels. These issues can cause breathing and heart problems, making the condition very serious, especially in infants. Early diagnosis and care from a team of doctors can help manage the challenges caused by this condition. As Declan gets older, his family has adjusted to how they care for him in day-to-day activities. Maddie’s Miracles saw the opportunity to help by providing this family with essential pieces of medical equipment to make Declan and both his parents lives a bit easier. Maddie’s Miracles was able to provide Declan with a shower chair, as well as an adaptive chair called the Go To Firefly Seat, which is a lightweight, portable, postural support seat designed for kids with disabilities. Stefany, one of Declan’s parents told us: “These pieces of equipment have aided in Declan’s day-to-day activities in so many ways. We are able to have him be a part of the dinner table when we go out to eat, as it provides him with the amount of support he needs to sit at the table. With bathing each day, the shower chair has given a whole new outlook and has put the fun back in bath time! Life before these pieces of equipment was not easy, nor were we able to have Declan be an active member of the family when out and about. He is now able to swing at parks with other kids his age, and his is able to comfortably have a bath with the support he needs. We are forever grateful for Maddie’s Miracles and cannot say enough how wonderful the entire process was to get Declan the equipment he needed. Thank you so much for the generosity!” Maddie’s Miracles continues to seek out families of children with severe disabilities who could use assistance to make their daily lives easier. If you, or someone you know could benefit from our mission, please visit our nomination page and submit an application for us to review. We will be in contact with you shortly!

We started 2021 in an extremely positive way by helping a fourth family, providing them with home modifications and a bathroom renovation. Maddie’s Miracles heard about this family (who would like to remain anonymous) from a local Berks County teacher who had become close with them over the years.  The family cares for their son, who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at a young age. For those who don’t know, Cerebral Palsy is a disorder that affects muscle movement, muscle tone, and posture, and is caused by damage to the brain before birth. Living with this disorder brings certain challenges that the family and their son face every day, like toileting, bathing, and transferring their son around the house. Maddie’s Miracles was able to renovate their bathroom to make these daily tasks much easier. We were able to widen their door frame and install a custom shower stall with a bench and grab bars for easy access and use. Not only were we able to provide this family with home modifications that make their lives easier, but we also gave them each a sense of independence they did not have before. We were so happy to finish this project and see the final results. Thank you to all those who have supported us along this journey! No names are mentioned to respect the anonymity of the family.

At Maddie’s Miracles, we provide much more than bathroom remodels and handicap accessible vans. We understand every family is different and provide whatever is most necessary based on their needs. The Swartz family heard about Maddie’s Miracles through their service coordinator, who thought we might be able to help. When we reached out to Tara and her daughter, Morgan, we learned that they had been dealing with unique challenges like moving into a new townhome, which wasn’t properly equipped to accommodate Morgan’s disabilities. Morgan was diagnosed with spastic, quadriplegic cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, blindness, and a profound developmental delay. As you can imagine, having multiple disabilities makes everyday tasks much more challenging. There were multiple modifications to the home that needed to be done, so we gave the Swartz family a substantial grant to be able to modify various parts of their home to accommodate Morgan, like a ramp, handicap accessible bathroom, and more. 

The Melendez family has a young daughter with multiple orthopedic issues, leaving her with prosthetic legs, and caring for her can bring many obstacles they must conquer daily. Maddie’s Miracles heard of this family, met their little girl and we immediately wanted to help. Their daughter had a never give up attitude, determined to conquer any task that came her way, no matter how challenging it may be.  We were able to provide them with a renovation to their downstairs, installing a bathroom downstairs with a handicap accessible shower, sink and toilet. This renovation has been life-changing for the family. They work hard to make sure their daughter has as many opportunities to participate in everything that a young girl her age would typically be involved with and to encourage her to dream big. Now they have one less obstacle to worry about!

Our third project was for the Griffen family to help install the necessary modifications to make their bathroom handicap accessible. Thomas Griffen was first diagnosed with Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy when he was only 3 years old. Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle weakness. It is caused by a change in a protein called dystrophin and is the most severe out of the 4 types of dystrophinopathies. DMD first effects the proximal muscles (close to the core of the body) and then the muscles on your limbs making it progressively harder to get daily tasks done. One of the daily challenges they faced as Thomas got older was getting in and out of the shower tub, even a cut bathtub became too much. The sink then became a struggle as he couldn’t stand for long periods of time. These are daily challenges that most of us don’t have to face, which is why Maddie’s Miracles wants to help those who do. Now that the Griffen family has the proper equipment & modifications in their home they can overcome tasks that used to be a struggle. Greta was extremely happy with their newly renovated handicap accessible bathroom. “I’d like to thank everyone involved; this was an amazing gift that will make life a little easier for both Thomas and myself!” We are so happy the Griffen’s love their new bathroom and we would like to thank Bob Entler & Luciana Kitchen and Bath for their help.

Maddie’s Miracles has helped their second family by gifting them a much needed, handicap accessible van with the help of Rich’s Auto! Six year old Bailey was diagnosed with multiple diseases and disabilities and has endured over 10 different surgeries. Some of these include Spina Bifida, Epilepsy, Horner’s Syndrome and an extremely rare disease called Chiari 3. Due to the extent of Bailey’s disabilities, and the constant need to monitor her health, Nikki and Bailey drive to Dupont Hospital multiple times a month. It was an enormous struggle for them as they had to fit Bailey into her car seat, as well as all her equipment into the back. Maddie’s Miracles was able to raise enough money to surprise Nikki and Bailey with a fully handicap accessible van just a few days before Christmas! Both Nikki and Bailey were surprised and overwhelmed with joy seeing the van in their driveway. Now, they can wheel Bailey into her own van with ease to drive to Dupont, or take a simple trip to the grocery store without any struggle. Everyone has been extremely happy to see the Chintala family get around much easier in their new “Baileymobile!”