Boy With Cerebral Palsy Smiles Big When He’s Surprised With An Adaptive Van

11-year-old Kennedy Lyon of Lenexa, Kansas uses a wheelchair to get around due to having cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability in childhood, and affects a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture.

Although having a wheelchair helps Kennedy in his everyday life, getting in and out of his family van has become a struggle as he’s grown bigger.

As he’s grown up, his family had a stair lift installed in their home to help him go up and down the stairs. While this was already costly, being able to afford to adapt their van seemed even less likely for the Lyon family.

Adapting a van can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000.

That’s where Variety KC steps in.

Variety KC is a volunteer-driven organization that raises money to provide children with developmental disabilities the adaptive equipment and opportunities needed for activity and inclusion.

“Any time you can give a child the gift of mobility, the gift of freedom it’s life changing because they can participate then and these kids don’t need special treatment, they just need special equipment,” Deborah Wiebrecht, Chief Inclusion Officer for Variety KC, told FOX4 KC.

The charity surprised Kennedy with a new adaptive seat, which extend outside the van and allows him to be transferred from his wheelchair and into his seat in the van.

A smile spread on Kennedy’s face from ear to ear when he saw his new seat.

Watch the surprise in the video below:

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