Meet Olivia, a lively five year-old girl with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Olivia �rules the roost� with her family according to her mother, Anna. �We were told she wasn't going to live past two and she's five now! We sure try to make her happy!�, Anna says.
Mischiek Family�s New Found Liberty to Travel & Plan Family Vacations�She got into the van without a problem that very first day. I think the big thing was that plaque.�Dependence Converted to Freedom by Liberty Motor CompanyNoah Mischiek was a bright, independent young boy. He had right hemisphere paralysis and was unable to use the right side of his body. Noah's paralysis was the result of an in-utero stroke that resulted in an emergency caesarean section. The full extent of his condition wasn't diagnosed until he was six months old � after Noah's parents noticed he was not able to use his right hand. A quick paediatrician�s visit led to a long journey to McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario where the family received the devastating news.The intent is to make our streets a little less hazardous. We have all groused at the idiot guilty of driving while in conversation that cut us off or made us miss a light, and we have cursed the driver and his cell phone. Summers� proposal takes its cue from similar laws passed in New York and the District of Columbia. As everyone knows, these cities now have the safest streets in the world.�Noah just loves Frank! He gave us a lot of care and Noah has really bonded with him�, Jamie says.Frank and Liberty Motor Company also made certain the van was equipped with a DVD player to help make longer trips much easier and enjoyable for the entire family.Say, if the police pull a driver over to the side of the road, isn�t that the sort of distraction that could cause an accident? It should be banned!Another trip the family enjoys making is to the Elmvale Jungle Zoo where Olivia's favourite animal can be found, the pink flamingo!Soon after they received the van, the family took Olivia for a ride to see how she would react to it.The van�s wheelchair access conversion by Liberty Motor Company changed life for Olivia and her family. It converted Olivia�s dependence and limited mobility into freedom and independence for the whole family.�The kids got to see half of Canada on that trip! There's no way we would have been able to do that without the van�, Jamie recalls.�She's my little GPS!� Anna explains.PC Children's Charities help developmentally and physically challenged children. The charity donated $20,000 to help Noah's family buy a wheelchair accessible van. The Ontario March of Dimes, an advocacy and rehabilitation charity also contributed $5,524 through the Home and Vehicle Modification program funded by Ontario's Ministry of Community and Social Services. Frank Kasm, Mobility Specialist at Liberty Motor Company, equipped a van with a rotating seat so Noah could seat himself inside the vehicle at the simple push of a button. Frank personally delivered the 2004 Ford Freestar to the family's home in Woodstock, Ontario on July 24th, 2007.Ah, the law is to be a deterrent, to eliminate the possibility of harm. But won�t it also become more than that? How much of a stretch is it to envision police pulling over drivers who endanger nobody on a deserted road at 11pm, but who are guilty of making a cell call, just so the officer can meet his monthly quota? Isn�t that a harm all its own?The nameplate mounted on the van's dashboard reads �Noah's van�. Frank and the Mobility Specialists at Liberty Motor Company have similar plates made for each child who receives a wheelchair accessible van. According to Frank, �it helps create a connection between the vehicle and the people who will be relying on it, and with the plaque the van becomes their own personal vehicle�.�She's in a wheelchair 24/7 now. When she gets ill, she gets very ill. She's been in the hospital four times and a simple cold could be lethal for Olivia�, says her mother.
The van�s wheelchair access conversion by Liberty Motor Company changed life for Olivia and her family. It converted Olivia�s dependence and limited mobility into freedom and independence for the whole family.
Author: Wouter Van Essen
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