The Story
Lizzie’s story is filled with love, resilience, and deep devotion. Lizzie was born with spinabifida and is deaf blind. She needs hands-on care for every daily task. Her complex medical needs require constant attention and support.
Michele, a former nurse, first met Lizzie when she was just 5 weeks old. She became her foster parent and welcomed Lizzie and her birth mom into her heart and home. When it became clear that Lizzie needed a permanent family, Michele did not hesitate. She chose to adopt Lizzie.
Bathing is one of their toughest challenges. Lifting teenage Lizzie in and out of the bath tub is physically exhausting and increasingly unsafe. With Lizzie’s scoliosis she has difficulty sitting upright on the shower bench. Yet she loves the bathroom it’s like her very own acoustics studio . A place she finds such delight in the sounds of Josh Groban, Glee and her favorite the Moana soundtrack on her echo dot.
Lizzie loves riding the school bus ,going for walks and listening to music or books but she never gets tired of hearing Moana . Laughing and excited in anticipation of her favorite parts.
Lizzie has had to endure and overcome many challenges in her life. Multiple surgeries ,seizures, feeding tubes, specialized diets, infections ,daily injection, hospitalizations but through it all, everyday she wakes up with a big smile to greet a new day and goes to bed with laughter and giggles with her favorites. plushie poodle under chin ,and Moana playing on her speaker pillow.
Today Michele is a single mother in her sixties who recently retired and provides full time care for Lizzie. SOARD can make this space safe and special: an accessible bathroom to support Lizzie’s needs and make bathing more manageable for Michele.
