April is a very cheerful 6-year-old girl, who likes music and loves to dance. Her favourite character is Elsa from Frozen and the song ‘Let it go.’

When April was 2, she had a very high fever that led to a series of seizures and as a result, April was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Through therapy, April has regained some control of her body. She can now play, dance and sing loudly like other kids but her balance and motor skills need further improvement.

April needs a little support so that she can independently do things like using the toilet. TAD’s custom Step and Rails enabled her to do this at home.

When April started kindergarten, it was decided that the Step and Rails used at home should be adjusted to fit Aprils needs at school. It was thought that the school would take care of this but at the last-minute April’s parents were told it wasn’t possible to adjust the Step and Rails.

Mum Celeste was very concerned, “I was worried given the little time and didn’t know what to do. It was important for April to start school at the same time as other children so that she didn’t feel out of place, but I couldn’t risk sending her there if she couldn’t use the toilet.”

Celeste once again called on TAD for help.

TAD’s volunteers contacted April’s school to get the dimensions of the school toilet, picked up her Step and Rail from her house, modified it to the correct height and had it delivered directly to her school – all in less than three weeks and just in time for April to start school.

“I was totally blown away by such customer service, not just from Marijke (TAD Project Coordinator) but from the whole TAD team. The Chinese have an old saying, ‘”A single sparrow does not make spring season’ which implies that greatness is generally accomplished by a team.” Said, Celeste, as she spoke at TAD’s Volunteer Conference.

Celeste says, “I cannot stress enough how important it is for us to know that our daughter can independently and safely use the toilet at school. But I think the most important thing is that with independence April gains self-confidence, which will help her a lot with everything else in life.”