Hi, I’m Melissa. I’m creating this support page on behalf of my niece & her family.
Help Us Give Maleah a Safer & Accessible Mode of Transportation
Imagine being 14 years old.
Imagine getting ready for school, talking with your friends, going to the mall, attending a birthday party, going out with your family, and simply enjoying the everyday experiences that come with being a teenager.
Now imagine that almost every trip outside your home requires medical planning, therapy appointments, doctors’ visits, urgent care trips, and carefully figuring out how you are going to get from the house to the car, from the car to your wheelchair, and back again.
That is Maleah’s reality.
Maleah is our beautiful 14-year-old girl who was born with Myelomeningocele the most severe form of Spina Bifida , and she also has Hydrocephalus. As a result, she has been paralyzed from birth and uses a wheelchair.
Over the years, Maleah has also faced additional challenges, including Chiari malformation, seizures, hearing loss, neurogenic bladder and bowels, autism, cognitive delay, blood disorders, and vision issues, to name a few.
But Maleah is so much more than her diagnoses.
She is a daughter. She is a teenager. She has a personality, dreams, interests, and a life that deserves to be experienced beyond doctors’ offices and test & therapy rooms.
For 14 years, we have physically lifted, moved, and carried Maleah whenever she needed help getting from one place to another. We have done it because we are her parents, and you do whatever you have to do for your child.
But Maleah is growing.
She is now nearly 100 pounds, and getting her safely in and out of the car and into her wheelchair has become increasingly difficult and physically demanding. What we could manage when she was smaller is no longer safe or sustainable.
And the truth is, she still has places she needs to go.
She needs to get to her medical appointments.
She needs to attend therapy.
She needs to go to school.
She needs to get to urgent care when she needs medical attention.
She needs to visit family.
She needs opportunities to go out, make memories, and experience life like the teenager she is.
She deserves to go places without every trip becoming a physical struggle.
We are raising funds to help provide Maleah with safer, wheelchair-accessible transportation that will accommodate her wheelchair and growing needs.
This would mean more than transportation.
It would mean making it easier for Maleah to get to the care she needs.
It would mean less physical strain and worry for our family.
It would mean being able to say, “Yes, we can go,” when an opportunity comes up instead of wondering how we are going to physically get her there.
And most importantly, it would give Maleah greater freedom to experience the world around her.
No donation is too small. Every contribution brings us one step closer to giving Maleah a safer and more accessible way to get where she needs to go.
If you aren’t able to donate, sharing Maleah’s story is just as meaningful to us. You never know who might see it and be able to help.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about Maleah, to care about her journey, and to stand alongside our family.
Help us give our incredible 14-year-old the opportunity to get where she needs to go—and make memories along the way. ❤️
Words of Support
Donate, send meals, or lend a hand to include words of support.
Carlee Denis about 23 hours ago • with donation
Anonymous 9 days ago • with donation
Joshua Shivcharran 11 days ago • with donation
Jenelle Seenaught 11 days ago • with donation
Hemant & Deepthi Koblall 11 days ago • with donation
Saleh 11 days ago • with donation