Rylynn, who has Cerebral Palsy and is a full time wheelchair user, was six years old when her grandmother connected with Disability Network Southwest Michigan about having a ramp built on their house. All her life, Rylynn’s mother, who has one arm amputated, had to carry Rylynn up and down the stairs outside their home whenever she went anywhere, which now includes getting to school each day. This was less of a problem when Rylynn was younger, but as she gets older she’s also getting heavier to carry. The family was concerned that in the winter this would be too much for her mom to handle and that someone would get hurt.
Through our Ramp Up program, we were able to coordinate the funding and volunteers to build a ramp on their home. The entire family was very grateful for the ramp and for now being able to safely get Rylynn to her bus or take her to appointments.
Our Ramp Up program is funded in part by our annual RAMP-A-THON campaign. Thank you to our Corporate Sponsors for supporting the work we do to remove barriers in our community. This year’s sponsors are: Allied Mechanical Services, Integrity Back & Brain, Senior Services of Southwest Michigan, Charles River Laboratories, Ron Jackson Insurance, AVID, Aetna Better Health of Michigan, Northside Ministerial Alliance and Paragon Ophthalmology.