MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — On this week’s Mom to Mom, Local 10’s Nicole Perez spoke to two teenagers who are pushing to raise awareness and funds for a project that aims to help special needs children enjoy playtime just like their peers do.
Something as simple as shopping for toys for the average person is anything but for Andrea Lopez.
“I never knew how hard or actually mission impossible it would have been to find toys that were suitable for my son. My son is blind, so He doesn’t reach for toys. So, he doesn’t he’s not attracted to toys like other kids are and He has a difficulty opening his hands. So not only He cannot play with regular toys, but also, he has several limitations in many ways,” said Lopez.
Her nearly two-year-old son Mariana Felix had a severe brain hemorrhage at 24 weeks gestation.
“Later on, we discovered that the reason why he had this brain hemorrhage is because a syndrome called gold syndrome that causes brain hemorrhages, strokes, and affects different types, it affects different organs of your body. So, it has been extremely, extremely challenging. We have to, he eats with a feeding tube, something that I had no idea that actually kids can have,” said Lopez.
Andrea told Nicole that she sees 18 specialists along with many therapists to provide the best care for Mariano. But despite the challenges of raising her son, she says meeting other moms in the same situation was a blessing in disguise.
Rosie DeFeo is an Assistant Professor at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences who runs the Go Baby Go Program.
“We adapt toy ride on cars for kids with mobility limitations and we also adapt toys for kids to allow them to access and engage in play. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to. They so generously Gifted us with many toys that we now have at home,” said DeFeo.
At Go Baby Go, it’s graduate physical therapy and occupational therapy students who help put the toys together.
“So, we can take standard off the shelf ride on cars that you would find previously like toys or rust, Walmart, Target, those sorts of things and do some simple modifications to add a different type of switch to allow them to access and add structural modifications to help them sit when maybe they have difficulties doing so. And we individualize each car to be able to allow the child to reach the button to be able to move themselves,” said DeFeo.
Mariano has his very own car, and Nicole was able to see him in action.
“This car was made especially for him fit it for him and you would see Rosie cutting Material to make it special for him to be able to hold his back because he doesn’t have a good head control,” said Lopez.
DeFeo says the goal at Go Baby Go is to make play accessible and possible and to be able to provide it to the children who really need it.
“Our students are doing the work, we’re modifying these things together, I’m teaching them how to do the different modifications and we’re just trying to get the toys out there to the kids,” said Lopez.
For Lopez and her son, the car is not just a toy, it is life changing.
“I remember the first time that we put him in his car, and I couldn’t stop crying because I saw him. He opens his hands, and he loves to feel the breeze on his face. It is priceless to make my child part of our community; to teach other people that my son is as special as any other son, and that he is capable of playing something so simple. And to me, that’s life, to love, happiness," said Lopez.
Go Baby Go relies on donations to continue making and distributing toys at no cost to the families who need them. Two high school seniors heard the call, and they came running.
“I am trying to raise money for the foundation of Go Baby Go,” said Daniela Moya, a senior at John A. Ferguson High School.
Alandra Salmon is Moya’s classmate, and they are both part of the International Baccalaureate Program at Miami-Dade Public School, John A. Ferguson High School. The students were tasked with a school project that would have an impact on society.
“I felt very like touched because it’s like, most like the toys in the society, it’s geared to the majority. A majority of kids who can actually use them. I feel like these toys; they give them that opportunity. They are improving the quality of life of many of these kids that otherwise would be deprived of many of the happiness of being what a child is, such as playing with toy cars or something so simple as that,” said Salmon.
All of the funds the girls raise will go straight to Go Baby Go.
“I don’t know how much time I have with my son in this life. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I do know that because of these young girls, they are changing our life, are changing this world. And little by little, if we all get together, we can help so many other kids enjoy their life here on earth,” said Lopez.
A toy car cost can range from $250 to $400 depending on what is needed to create it. The goal is to raise $8,000 to $10,000. The girls will be hosting a color run soon to help raise awareness and funds, for information on upcoming fundraiser follow: @pediatricsig_miami
For more information about Go Baby Go, click on this link.
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