Evelyn Moore has a wheel up on other kids her age, and she is literally racing to catch up on lost time after treatments for cancer left her partially paralyzed. While other toddlers crawl or take wobbly steps toward their destination, the 13-month-old zips around on a custom-made wheelchair built by her father (with a little help from Pinterest). It took a while for Evelyn to learn how to maneuver the chair. “When kids crawl, they move backwards, and then forwards and then they learn how to turn. It was the same for her, and then one day she just got it,” Evelyn’s mom, Kimberly Moore, told TODAY. “We had to throw down a piece of wood in our living room to create a speed bump because she was just flying.” Courtesy of Brad Moore Evelyn’s paralysis stems from cancer diagnosed when she was 4 months old. She went in for a routine checkup but doctors ordered tests after noticing an overextension in her hips. RELATED: Paralyzed boy's wish to spend more time with family fulfilled with backyard path
“It was stage 4 neuroblastoma, which were some pretty scary words. Now I can say them, but I couldn’t at first,” said Moore, who lives in the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta. The cancer attacked Evelyn’s spine and attached to a lung and her heart. It forced her to undergo eight rounds of chemotherapy and left her paralyzed below her arms. Moore said she went looking for a wheelchair as “part of the grieving process” after learning about her daughter’s paralysis. “I just went on Pinterest and tried to wrap my head around what it would look like,” she said. RELATED: Teen's adoption proposal is captured in emotional, viral video Because of Evelyn’s age and size — she weighs about 18 pounds, her mom said — doctors told her parents she wouldn’t be big enough for a children’s wheelchair for another couple of years. Until then, she would have to get around using her arms in a military-style crawl. But online, Moore found a photo of a custom-made wheelchair another father made using a rubber Bumbo seat, a kitchen cutting board, some caster wheels and a pair of children’s bicycle tires.
“I brought it to my husband and said, ‘Can we do this, too?’ And so we went together to the parts store,” she said, still expressing surprise at how her husband put together the finished product within two days. “We couldn’t wrap our heads around how the heck we were going to put all these things together. We just kept looking at each other. I work as an event planner, and my husband works as a tire technician,” said Moore, 29. “We have no experience doing projects like this, and so we even had to buy a few tools to get it done.” RELATED:Lego releases minifigure that uses a wheelchair Evelyn has has been in remission for the past two months, during which her parents have been trying to discover their new normal. Moore said spending eight months living in a hospital left her struggling with depression and anxiety. But the reaction she and her husband have received from people who have read about Evelyn’s wheelchair has lifted her spirits. “It’s been so heartwarming to get so many warm messages about Evelyn and the chair and how she goes,” she said.
Evelyn has had to relearn nearly everything, but she has quickly adapted to her newfound mobility. She knows how to adjust her chair when reaching for toys and to satisfy her curiosity by peering over low tables and counters. “We’re just building a regular life, that’s all we see. And that other people see us as inspiring?" "She definitely is, but all we are are parents just trying to give our kid the tools to be a kid, really.” Follow Eun Kyung Kim on Twitter or Facebook.I’ve been weaning Lily for about 2 months now, and she’s been sitting at the highchair, on the floor or on the sofa when I’ve been feeding her. It does get quite messy, and sometimes I can’t be bothered to set the highchair up. Today I’m going to share with you my thoughts on the new Bumbo Multi Seat, which I absolutely LOVE! There’s nothing to set up, and as soon as I took it out of the box, I saw the bright pop of yellow – it was just so wow. I’ll tell you a bit more about the seat.
You probably know about the old Bumbo seat, that was rubbery and you put the baby in it on the floor. I had a greeny-blue one for Tyler that I used between age 4-6 months. Well, this seat is completely different – it’s a multi-seat that GROWS as your baby grows. It has a sturdy plastic outer, a removable foam cushion, chair straps, 3-point harness and a tray, so that it can morph into three seat stages – floor, feeding and booster. It can be made slightly higher or lower with the grey height-adjustable base at the bottom. There are also rubber bits on the base so that it doesn’t slide on the floor. I’ll show you floor mode first, which is suitable for babies from 6 months who are able to sit upright. Lily fits in it quite comfortably, and the harness straps give that extra security that she won’t fall out. You can adjust the straps to make them tighter or looser. What I see as a bonus is there is a plastic tray attached to the base, that you can take off by squeezing the dark grey button.
It’s really cumbersome to have a big tray lying around when you are not using it, so I love this space-saving idea. The tray slots in to the front of the bit between the legs. It comes up quite close to Lily’s tummy, so if you have a chunkier baby, it may be a bit snug. It is a compact tray, good for putting finger food on. Next I’ll show you the main way we have been using this seat, and that is at the kitchen table, so she feels like she is one of us! The Bumbo Multi Seat attaches to a chair using the straps on the sides. You can adjust the straps to make them tight around the chair. The chair has to have minimum dimensions of 38cm x 35cm on the seat and 30cm height on the back of the chair. It does feel really secure, and Lily absolutely loves sitting at the table like a big girl. It goes really well with my kitchen too! To put it away, you just unbuckle the straps (after you take the baby out!), take the grey plastic base off and pull the straps back inside.
The third mode of the Bumbo Multi Seat is the toddler one, where you can take the yellow rubber insert off and store it inside the seat (another great space-saving idea!). Bumbo says to use the safety harness until the child is around 2 and 1/2 years old, when he/she can get in and out of the seat without help. What I really like about the Bumbo Multi Seat is how portable it is, so I can easily take it to my parents’ house and feed Lily there without having to worry about not having a highchair there. It fits in one of the supermarket shopper bags, which is great! The other good thing I find is how easy it is to pick up with ONE hand and move from room to room, while holding Lily on my hip. This is so useful, compared to another leading brand that I have to pick up with both hands – such a pain! I have used this seat so much at my parents, I can really recommend it as a seat you take with you when visiting friends and family. My verdict : Very sturdy seat, great to seat baby at the table and for taking to other people’s houses when visiting.