Page 31 - Tom Steyer Issue

Lego. Luckily, many people want to support her work, and therefore, her landlord offered her an additional basement room only for her Lego.
5-year-old Mona receives her Lego ramp
On June 25, 2019, the time finally came, and Rita delivered her very first Lego ramp to the proud recipient, a local newspaper called the Hanauer Anzeiger. Only ten months later, the busy Hessian has built a total of 20 ramps! One of her latest projects was at the same time the most impactful for a little girl, Mona.
Mona is a bright 5-year-old who lives with a rare condition called hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), an illness that leads to progressive weakness and spasticity of the legs. “As soon as Mona started walking, it was obvious that something is wrong. She was always very
unsteady and constantly fell,” Mona’s dad, Fabian, says. “Her doctors would tell us we shouldn’t be too worried because she is still young and would catch up to other children her age soon. Nevertheless, we always had this feeling she might not, and ultimately, it was confirmed,” Christina, Mona’s mother, adds.
When Mona grew out of her stroller, the family decided a wheelchair would be a better option to allow Mona to move around independently. “We wanted to give Mona the legitimacy she deserved and needed. Sitting in her stroller, people didn’t know that Mona lives with a chronic condition. They would ask why such an old child still needs a stroller. We felt a wheelchair would give Mona more independence and also show that she has a disability. And that that’s absolutely OK,” Christina explained.
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