Just like other 10-year-old girls, Peregian’s Isabella Taylor enjoys playing with make up, arts and crafts, baking, and playing with her little sister.
But life for the local family looks very different to most, with Isabella being unable to walk or talk due to dyskinetic spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.
Her mum, Lauren Taylor said Isabella has a Gross Motor Function Classification Scale of five, being the most severe or high level of cerebral palsy.
“She has epilepsy, hip dysplasia, developmental delay, terrible dystonia, is non verbal, and has an array of associated health problems directly related to her severe brain injury,” Lauren said.
“Despite this – she is a social, funny, clever, kind, caring and happy beautiful little girl.
“She brightens our lives everyday and her favourite person in the world is her little sister Ohana who is six and her grandma.”
Isabella’s condition affects her life profoundly daily.
“She struggles with dystonia which is debilitating and painful and she is unable to grasp of hold things which makes everything difficult for her,” Lauren said.
“As she gets older she wants to be able to do things herself but just isn’t able to and this is extremely frustrating for her.
“She struggles with making friends and connecting with other children because of her inability to communicate and she just wants to be included. “Lately she has been struggling emotionally with feeling very left out and not being able to be included in things that other children or her sister is and do.”
Lauren used her superannuation under compassionate medical grounds to buy an imported wheelchair car when Isabella was three, but it is no longer safe or reliable.
Having a properly modified vehicle would be “life changing” for the family, allowing Isabella to remain in her wheelchair while travelling.
“It is difficult for people to understand or relate to how different our lives actually are,” Lauren said.
“Having a wheelchair accessible car that Issy can travel safely in her wheelchair in is life changing for us – it is not a luxury but a necessity for her to be able to attend appointments, access the community, do normal things and get out of the house.”
The local community is rallying to raise $20,000 for a new vehicle, with businesses and residents already showing their support.
Lauren said her family is filled with gratitude.
“It is overwhelming and brings us so much hope that people are willing, kind, supportive, generous and genuinely want to help,” she said.
“Life is hard for us – it is difficult to comprehend or to put into words or perspective how challenging life really is for us everyday.
“We live in a world where people take so much for granted – like getting in and out of their cars or running into the shop quickly – people don’t really think about how difficult things like that for people like Issy and my family are.
“So this has brought much hope and gratitude to my heart that there are people that actually do care and want to help.”
Lauren said her hope for Isabella’s future is that she can live a happy life.
“Her happiness and joy is the most important factor and thing to me,” she said.
“Obviously Issy’s life will always look very different to the majority of people and she will require support and assistance with everything for the entirety of her life. I can’t fix that or change that and that in itself is very difficult to carry. But if I can try to make sure that her life is happy and that she can enjoy things and have experiences that fill her heart with happiness and create wonderful memories with me and her sister and family.”
A GoFundMe aims to raise $20,000 for the new vehicle.
To donate to the fundraiser visit gofund.me/b4213b5ec
