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ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) — Go Baby Go has given a sponsored car to Ivy Lindhorst, a young girl who has Coffin-Siris Syndrome (SMARCB-1 variant).
Per their GoFundMe to raise money for future projects, Go Baby Go is “a community-based research, design and outreach program that provides accessible, inexpensive and common-sense solutions for kids with limited mobility… The Go Baby Go program adapts commercially available electronic ride-on vehicles to meet the individual needs of children with mobility limitations. The modified toy vehicles give children with mobility disabilities a chance to play and socialize with their peers more easily.”
Both Ithaca College Physical Therapy students and Cornell Biomedical Engineering students worked together to modify a car for 22-month-old Ivy.
“Ivy’s physical therapist suggested Go Baby Go to us, so we filled out a form and emailed Kimberly Kurr and took it from there,” says Ivy’s mom, Thena Lindhorst.
Thena describes Ivy as a very happy and smiley kid, just in a different place than other peers her age. She’s not as mobile independently and displays more similarities developmentally to other kids who are around 7 to 8 months old. Her condition is very rare and genetic, with less than 1,000 known cases of it worldwide.
“After we got into the program, we started with a posse of Ithaca PT students that were focused solely on Ivy’s car. We got to see the car they were modifying, had a seat fitting done, took measurements for the button that she uses to drive the car, and figured out what modifications would work best for her in conjunction with her physical therapist.”
The car itself has a giant button that Ivy presses to get the car to go, although her parents do have controller to use to help her steer while she gets the hang of her new ride. So far, Ivy can bring her car around the block at home a few times, giving her a new way to get around independently.
“We’re lucky to live in Tompkins County where there are so many options for services and organizations that can help people like Ivy with accommodations. It’s unfortunate that services like what Ivy receives aren’t accessible for so many people in places where there’s less abundance of helpful organizations. Living here is a huge advantage for being able to get Ivy the help she needs.”
If you’re interested in supporting Go Baby Go and helping them fund more projects like Ivy’s, visit their GoFundMe page here. To keep up with Ivy and see her progress, visit the Ivy’s League Facebook page here.