For five-year-old Sadie, there is nothing more frustrating than always being tagged “It” first in a game of tag on the playground. Sadie has mild cerebral palsy, which causes high tone in her legs and can make it difficult for her to keep up with her friends.
But not anymore!
Sadie recently received a new pair of ankle foot orthotics (AFOs) from Variety St. Louis. They give her the support she needs to run, jump and play.
“Sadie says her new braces help her run and go down the slide faster,” says Sadie’s mom, Mandy. “I know it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but, to a five-year-old, it means so much to have her legs working better.”
If it wasn’t for Variety, this newfound independence might not have been possible for Sadie.
When she was born at 27 weeks, Sadie’s parents’ lives were flipped upside down. Mandy shares that they had just bought a new house, she had to quit work to take care of Sadie’s needs, the medical bills were mounting up and more. Their resources have been almost completely depleted.
“Without Variety’s help, I don’t know how we would have been able to afford these (the AFOs),” says Mandy. “It means so much to us, I cried when I found out we had help.”
And if you can’t tell from the smile on Sadie’s face, having the orthotics means a lot to her as well! Learn more about our Durable Medical Equipment, which makes is possible for Variety Kids like Sadie to access their worlds.