“I can do it!” -DeAndre, HeartShare First Step Pre-School

DeAndre is full of energy. He races around on his scooter, something that he was never able to do before. DeAndre has a condition that only 1 in 32,000 babies are born with. He is missing fingers on his right hand, which makes it difficult for him to grip and achieve balance. To him, it’s also a daily re­minder that he’s different from his pre-school peers. HeartShare Occupational Therapist Olga Khazanova added adaptive technology to the scooter handle, which helped DeAndre glide around as he always wanted to. DeAndre doesn’t walk around with his hands in his pockets anymore. “I can do it,” he shouts to his mother, who watches him ride up and down the block by their home. The HeartShare pre-school purchased and adapted two scooters for DeAndre—one for school and one for home. “My baby has come a long way,” Sandra said. Sandra was told that DeAndre, who was born less than 2 pounds, wouldn’t live past two or three years old. DeAndre is five and will attend Kindergarten in the fall.

Learn more about HeartShare and its Family of Services in our 2016 Annual Report.