“Maria's health has been compromised since before she was born. At sixteen weeks she was diagnosed with a Grade IV Intraventricular Hemorrhage. It is the most serious bleeding that occurs in the brain tissues around the ventricles, leading to long term brain injury to the baby. She suffered two strokes, first one at sixteen weeks and second at 32 weeks. Since then she has had many surgeries and treatments with ups and downs, but at the end she is our little warrior always fighting for her life. Her diagnosis is very complex - seizure disorders, cerebral palsy, legally blind, glaucoma, neurogenic bladder and bowel syndrome, spinal cord injury, spasticity. Despite all her medical conditions she is our miracle! Our family has been impacted tremendously in so many ways, but we are always hoping for the best and together we can help her to be stronger.

Maria’s personality is amazing. She’s always smiling and happy, loves to be around people and loves music, singing and dancing. Maria is nonverbal but luckily enough she has a communication device that she is a pro using it and will let you know what she wants. We do know she loves swimming, but it has always been difficult for her to go in the pool and for us to transfer her in and out of the pool, making it very dangerous for her and us.

Maria’s wish for a pool lift allows her to continue to enjoy swimming as much as she can, with no restrictions of getting in and out the pool. This wish is very important to us because it is life-changing for Maria, allowing her to smile bigger and brighter. It is just priceless! Maria is enjoying the summer and her first days of high school after a year and a half of being home. Thank you for making it possible for children like our daughter Maria to dream and have their wishes granted, as well as to be given an opportunity to believe how special each of they are and that they are not forgotten! Thank you for helping our family with this beautiful piece of equipment that gives her a better quality of life.”