A donation by Canadian military police will help a disabled Langley girl’s family get a specialized stroller.
Jessica Walker is a 14-year-old student in Grade 9 at Brookswood secondary. Her mother Charlene said Jessica has visual impairments, and global developmental delay.
Around school, Jessica uses a wheelchair, or more often a special walker that allows her to move and helps strengthen and stretch her muscles.
But neither wheelchair nor walker is ideal for going out and about in the community. The stroller will let her family expand her horizons.
“It’ll make a huge difference,” said Charlene. “It’ll allow her to go places we wouldn’t normally take her.”
The $4,300 specialized medical stroller was out of financial reach for the Walker family.
So Langley support teachers who worked with Jessica decided to help out. Instructor for visually impaired students Holly Guinan said Kari Olesen, a physical therapist, did a lot of the work going through the paperwork of figuring out exactly what type of stroller Jessica needed. Then Olesen applied for a grant from the Military Police Fund for Blind Children.
Cpl. Rodrigo Zerecero-Garcia was on hand at Brookswood Tuesday morning to hand over the official letter letting the family know they’ve been approved for a grant.
Based out of Chilliwack for the past four years, Zerecero-Garcia has helped give out grants totalling more than $25,000 to B.C. kids.
The Military Police Fund approves everything from computer equipment to special iPads to trips to camp.
While the fund is for children with visual impairment, it funds any special need they may have that is financially out of reach.
“We ware so happy to be able to help people like Jessica,” said Zerecero-Garcia.
Jessica is a member of the STRIVE program at the school. Although she cannot speak, she takes part in as many school activities as she can.