JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Six kids in Northeast Florida battling serious health conditions are getting quite the surprise from some local architects Thursday afternoon.
Architectural company RS&H is gifting them with custom-made wheelchairs for Halloween. All of the kids got to be a part of the design process.
One parent — whose child is getting one of the wheelchairs — says it will be a big step in making her daughter feel included.
At five years old, Pearl is learning how to walk. Her mother, Megan Laubacker, says that is a huge milestone.
“We were told she would never walk, never communicate, and never do any of the basic things,” Laubacker said.
But Pearl is defying those odds. She was born with severe hydrocephalus and a condition that’s called “VACTERL” association, which is when someone has at least three birth defects. They can include heart defects and limb abnormalities.
Pearl has already had nearly a dozen major surgeries in her short life. She loves riding her horse, “Ringo,” for therapy.
Pearl is one of the six kids between five and 12 years old who will be on the receiving end of one of the custom-built wheelchairs.
“It will just make Pearl feel so included,” Laubacker said.
Brandon Pourch is an architect for RS&H. This is the eighth year of the particular project and it is the company’s way of giving back to the community.
“Knowing that it is something that I have been trained to do for my profession, but I can use those same skills to get back to those in need,” Pourch said.
The architects, lighting designers, and sculptors who are a part of this process for the first time hope to put a smile on the kids’ faces.
Laubacker thinks it will be way more than that for her daughter Pearl.
“I just want her to be a kid,” Laubacker said. “I want her to have that sense of joy and just being a kid. Not being at a hospital, not being at a doctor’s office. Just being able to have fun and just be one of the others.”
The big reveal is planned to be at the RS&H headquarters on Deerwood park Boulevard starting at 4 p.m. Thursday.
“It is always an unbelievable feeling,” Pourch said of seeing the kids’ reactions when they get the wheelchairs. “That emotion, that gratitude that comes from the kids and the families, just knowing that we can help them feel a little bit more normal for the Halloween season.”