Playground For All

Hannah is a new kindergartner at Tobey Elementary in Vicksburg Michigan. Several of her classmates are working hard to get a playground she can play on. Hannah has a form of cerebral palsy called spastic diplegia which affects her lower limbs. She requires leg braces and a walker to assist with walking. Through all of this Hannah has remained the sweetest, most compassionate 5 year old girl you will ever meet. She cares so much for others and her smile and spirit lights up every room she walks into.
          Hannah is having a life changing surgery in September 2016 called selective dorsal rhizotomy which has the chance to give her a significant increase in her quality of life and increase her mobility. The surgery requires at least a week long stay in St. Louis, plus follow up visits, and a couple years of intense physical therapy, possible orthopedic surgeries, and the need for many medical devices.
          When Hannah started school this year at Tobey the fifth graders noticed that she couldn't really play on any of the playground equipment.  This was a problem they wanted to solve.  They have identified a playground structure that is "all-inclusive".  Hannah will be able to play on this structure when she returns from her surgery.  The Tobey fifth graders have embarked on a fund raising campaign to raise the $20,000 for the structure. The fifth graders are hoping to have it purchased and installed when she returns in mid-November. The Tobey students are "Offering a Helping Hand" to one of their own by suprising Hannah on her first day back from surgery. Hannah wants so bad to be like the other children and the fifth graders want to give her this gift.