Niya’s “Zipline”

Maren Nordhoy • January 16, 2025

Niya is a happy girly girl who loves pink and spending time with her family. She has a large family of eight brothers and sisters who always make her smile and laugh. She loves funny noises, listening to The Boxcar children’s books, and loves being outside.


Niya faces lots of challenges with her mental and physical disabilities. She was born prematurely at 29 weeks with peri ventricular leukomalacia. This is damage to the brain that resulted in spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and cortical visual impairment.


She currently uses a manual wheelchair, a stander; to help her stand and bear weight, a gait trainer; to help her take steps, an activity chair; for feeding and participating in family time, a handicap accessible vehicle for transportation, and a medical grade hi low bed for assisting with transfers and safe sleeping. She uses all this equipment daily.


Niya’s family reached out to Maddie’s Miracles for assistance with a ceiling lift to help transport her to her handicap accessible bathroom. The family needed the lift as Niya is getting older and will continue to grow. Transferring her in and out of the bed and shower chair was getting more difficult and would continue to worsen as she got older and bigger. The safest and less strenuous option was a ceiling lift. The lift was denied several times by the family’s insurance company. A ceiling lift is quoted to cost anywhere from $7,000 to $12,000 which is not affordable so that is when the family decided to seek help elsewhere. Once Maddie’s Miracles read their submission we decided to meet the family. Within two minutes of meeting Niya and her beautiful smile and spunky personality we knew she her family needed the lift and decided on providing it for her and her family as our next miracle.


The ceiling lift was installed by Laurel Medical on September 24th, 2024. It took less than two days to have the lift fully installed and ready for use. The family told us immediately after it was installed how much Niya loved it and how it has helped them tremendously. It has allowed them to provide a safe mode of transfer to and from her bathroom. Niya always enjoys taking her zipline and always has a huge smile on her face when she’s in it.

  • Family poses in living room; daughter in wheelchair, parents smile, neutral colors, sunny.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • A person in a sling lift in a shower. Light-skinned child in a grey sling, colorful leggings, and pink slippers.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Woman operating ceiling lift, transferring child from bed. White room, wooden bed, pink storage cubes.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Woman assists girl in ceiling track lift system in a room. The girl smiles.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button
  • Woman and girl in accessible bedroom, smiling next to the bed. Ceiling lift installed above.

    Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

Family stands near a gray accessible van with ramp deployed in a wooded area.

Enzo’s Miracle Van

By Maren Nordhoy • July 22, 2025
Enzo’s story is a beautiful reminder of the power of perseverance, the importance of accessibility, and the joy that shines through even the toughest challenges. Maddie’s Miracles is proud to have played a small part in helping Enzo and his incredible family continue their journey with hope and strength.
Group of people standing by a blue car on a snowy street, smiling.

Christmas Eve Miracle

By Maren Nordhoy • July 21, 2025
Alesia is 12 years old and has had Cerebral Palsy since birth it has been an extreme challenge simply managing the day-to-day tasks and activities. Alesia has no control or support of her lower body. She does have an adaptive car seat. However, it causes her extreme discomfort. The task of simply transporting her to the numerous appointments she has throughout the week can be heart-aching to watch. We have had to cancel appointments and cancel on family gatherings simply because Alesia is too uncomfortable to leave the house without her chair. The vehicle will help us tremendously, not only in transporting her to and from her appointments, but will also allow us to bring Alesia’s wheelchair along in hopes she will be eager to head out and do more.  Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of neurological disorders that affect movement, muscle tone, and posture. It is caused by damage to the developing brain, often before or during birth, or in early infancy. The condition can vary in severity, with some individuals experiencing mild coordination issues, while others may have significant physical and intellectual challenges. Symptoms can include difficulty with walking, speaking, and fine motor skills. Although there is no cure for cerebral palsy, treatments such as physical therapy, medication, and assistive devices can help improve quality of life and independence.
Two women and a child are posing for a picture on a couch.

A Miracle for Declan: Transforming Lives with Adaptive Medical Equipment

By Maren Nordhoy • December 13, 2024
Declan is diagnosed with TARP Syndrome, which is a rare genetic condition that mainly affects boys and is caused by changes in the RBM10 gene on the X chromosome. The syndrome itself is a spectrum, varying in how it presents itself in each case. It is marked by several health problems, including clubfoot (a twisting of the foot), heart defects, issues with jaw and palate development (like a small lower jaw and cleft palate), and abnormal blood vessels. These issues can cause breathing and heart problems, making the condition very serious, especially in infants. Early diagnosis and care from a team of doctors can help manage the challenges caused by this condition. As Declan gets older, his family has adjusted to how they care for him in day-to-day activities. Maddie’s Miracles saw the opportunity to help by providing this family with essential pieces of medical equipment to make Declan and both his parents lives a bit easier. Maddie’s Miracles was able to provide Declan with a shower chair, as well as an adaptive chair called the Go To Firefly Seat, which is a lightweight, portable, postural support seat designed for kids with disabilities. Stefany, one of Declan’s parents told us: “These pieces of equipment have aided in Declan’s day-to-day activities in so many ways. We are able to have him be a part of the dinner table when we go out to eat, as it provides him with the amount of support he needs to sit at the table. With bathing each day, the shower chair has given a whole new outlook and has put the fun back in bath time! Life before these pieces of equipment was not easy, nor were we able to have Declan be an active member of the family when out and about. He is now able to swing at parks with other kids his age, and his is able to comfortably have a bath with the support he needs. We are forever grateful for Maddie’s Miracles and cannot say enough how wonderful the entire process was to get Declan the equipment he needed. Thank you so much for the generosity!” Maddie’s Miracles continues to seek out families of children with severe disabilities who could use assistance to make their daily lives easier. If you, or someone you know could benefit from our mission, please visit our nomination page and submit an application for us to review. We will be in contact with you shortly!