An act of chair-ity

Donation lifts spirits

Posted

For Tyler Tibbs, a 19-year-old Baldwin resident and sophomore at Hofstra University with cerebral palsy, a stair lift makes moving around her home significantly easier. Cerebral palsy, which affects a person’s ability to move, confines Tyler to a wheelchair.

Yvette Tibbs, Tyler’s mother, reached out to State Sen. Todd Kaminsky in December, after having trouble getting a new stair lift for her daughter, and he offered to lend a hand. The Tibbs’ old lift worked inconsistently. “The old one kept breaking,” Yvette recounted, “and the last time it was … bad , because she was right in the middle of the stairway, and the person who was going to help me with her was coming in 15 minutes. So for 15 minutes she’s laughing, and I was panicking.”

Yvette, a single mom, couldn’t carry her daughter up stairs because of a previous injury. “I couldn’t get her up stairs, and she was sleeping on the couch for a while until we could finally find a temporary fix [for the lift],” she said.

Yvette had been trying to acquire a replacement stair lift since June. Kaminsky contacted the state Office of Persons with Developmental Disabilities to expedite the process, and Tyler got her new stair lift installed in February. The senator did not have a price tag for the lift.

“Now it’s much easier, because she’s actually in the same room where her power chair is,” Yvette said.

“The actual seat turns, and then I can just easily take her out and her room is right there,” she added. “So it’s like perfect. This is a big deal.”

The stair lift would have cost the family thousands of dollars, and Yvette extended her gratitude to Kaminsky for all he did to help secure it for them.

“I think we all need to keep in perspective the challenges that certain people have with disabilities,” Kaminsky said. “You and I go upstairs every day. We don’t think twice, but it’s a tremendous obstacle for someone in Tyler’s position.

“Getting them whatever help they need in order for them to live their most productive lives and do what they want to do is incredibly important,” he added. “I was happy to push to get the chair lift. She is an honors student. She is succeeding in college. She is a hero to myself and [to] so many other people, so we want to give her every tool possible.”

Yvette told Kaminsky during a visit to her home that she and Tyler were surprised by the response from his office. “Tyler said she didn’t believe people were still out there that care this much, but people do care,” Yvette said. “You take a lot of time out and do a lot of things, and your plate is extremely full.”

“Look, this shouldn’t be an extraordinary thing,” Kaminsky said. “This should just happen, but it’s our office’s job to push when pushing needs to happen, and [for] such a talented, special person, we want to give her everything she needs to succeed and she’s doing it.”

“I try to do my best all the time,” Tyler said.

Her mother agreed, saying, “She does do her best. She tries hard in spite of all she has in her way. She’s my hero, you know?”