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Baby Eva’s homemade wheelchair steers her to success

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(Twitter/@GlobalEdmonton)

At just one-year-old, Eva Moore is a baby with the sweetest ride – thanks to mom and dad. The infant pulls up to play dates in a purple Bumbo seat, glammed up with a decorated banner displaying her name on the back.

However, Eva’s mother, Kim Moore, often has to explain to her friends that “it’s not a toy; it’s her wheelchair.”

Diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma just eight months ago, a tumour discovered in Eva’s chest and back left her paraplegic. “The infant endured emergency surgery, then eight rounds of chemotherapy. The procedures saved her life, but not her legs,” reports Global News.

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Bev Wilson, a pediatric oncologist at the Stollery Children’s Hospital tells Global News, “This was one of the most powerful stories of resiliency I’ve ever seen.” She praises the Moore family for their optimistic outlook despite their daughter’s dual diagnosis of cancer and paraplegia. “[Eva’s parents] normalized her emotional experience, her social development. When she normally would be a crawler, she was able to explore her world, like any other crawling infant would.”

By building this wheelchair, Eva’s parents have given her the opportunity to experience the world like any other one-year-old can—but on wheels. “The Moores found the idea for the chair on Pinterest, then built it themselves by screwing the seat and wheels into a regular cutting board.”

“Eva loves it.”

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The homemade chair has not only been helping Eva move all around the house, but also serves as a form of physiotherapy and strengthens her upper body. Her parents hope Eva’s wheelchair will encourage her to not let her disability slow her down.

“Just making sure she has the same abilities as any other one-year-old,” Kim says.

What do you think of Eva’s wheels? Let us know by tweeting to @YahooStyleCA.