Harriet – Wheelchair hire

When Harriet suffered a spinal cord stroke at just 13 years old, life changed in an instant. A simple stretch at basketball training led to a sudden loss of mobility. Within days, doctors confirmed the devastating news—she wouldn’t walk again.

The weeks and months that followed were filled with uncertainty. After three months in the hospital, all Harriet wanted was to go home, but that wasn’t possible without a wheelchair.

As Harriet puts it, “MAD came into our lives during a desperate and traumatic time. We didn’t know much about them before, but they were introduced to us when we needed them the most.”

MAD arranged for Harriet to have a proper wheelchair—one she could use independently—so she could finally come home. They covered the cost of renting the wheelchair from her discharge in July 2023 until her new custom wheelchair arrived in February 2024. That’s something we wouldn’t have been able to manage on our own. Looking back, we don’t know what we would have done without that support.

At a time when everything felt overwhelming, MAD was there. They stepped in during one of the hardest moments of our lives and helped in a way that made a real, immediate difference. The people who support MAD, who donate and make this kind of help possible, might not always see the impact first hand—but for families like Harriet’s, it means everything.

Now, Harriet has embraced new opportunities, including wheelchair basketball. She’s part of the Victorian State Development Squad and training with some of the best players in the sport. Life looks different than we once imagined, but thanks to MAD’s support, she’s moving forward with confidence.

To everyone who makes MAD’s work possible—thank you. You changed our lives when we needed it most.