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08/30/2018 12:00 AMWith a little assistance from this caring community, friends of Branford's Handy family are hoping to quickly raise $60,000 to build a first-floor bedroom and handicapped accessible bathroom for the Handy's 15-year-old daughter, Olivia. The Branford High School (BHS) freshman with the sunny outlook and beautiful smile has been living with Cerebral Palsy since birth and cannot walk.
Olivia was in sixth grade at Walsh Intermediate School (WIS) when she was befriended by an older student, Melanie Sachs; and through Sachs, Olivia also became friends with Sachs' friend at WIS, Juliana Robinson. Their friendship has continued through the years. Now juniors at BHS, Sachs and Robinson have established a GoFundMe page with a $60,000 goal to help Olivia continue to live comfortably in the Handy family's Cape-style home. Currently, Olivia sleeps in a hospital bed in the living room. She's also limited to use of the home's small first-floor bathroom, which is not handicapped accessible.
Fifteen years ago, Olivia was born prematurely, at 25 weeks, as one of triplets – one girl and two boys -- to Christine and Dan Handy.
"All three of them were in the hospital for quite some time, but my daughter had the more significant medical issues when she was born. She came home last," says Christine Handy.
Cerebral Palsy is a group of neurological disorders impacting a person's ability to control muscle movement, posture, breathing and more. Olivia has had several operations and procedures since she was born, including complete airway reconstruction. Another procedure is in Olivia's near future, said her mom.
As Olivia's grown, it's become too difficult for her parents to carry her upstairs in the house, which is also home to her brothers Zachary and Tyler.
"We live in a house that's a Cape, and our bedrooms are upstairs," said Handy. "We can't carry her up there anymore; so it's been difficult. She has a hospital bed in living room, and we have one small bathroom for her downstairs."
The family has been trying to save money to get to a point where they could begin to modify their first floor to accommodate Olivia's needs. Handy said she has never considered asking others for help, and was overwhelmed when her friend and Robinson's mom, Tricia Robinson, told her Olivia's friends wanted to start a fundraising web page.
"It's pretty surreal," said Handy. "I don't ask for help; it's so foreign to me. But I appreciate everyone's help. It's going to make such a huge difference in my daughter's life, to have her own space and bathroom that can accommodate her."
Tricia Robinson said the Robinson and Handy families have become closer ever since they learned that her husband and Dan Handy, who grew up in North Branford, were boys who met because their fathers were friends. The youthful friendship was rekindled after Olivia was on FaceTime talking with Melanie and Juliana at Robinson's home. Christie Handy and Tricia Robinson happened to spot one another during that talk, started discussing family last names, and from there, they figured out the link between their husbands' families.
"It's kind like our families have had a lifelong friendship that started back with Olivia's and Juliana's grandfathers and their dads. And Melanie gets the credit for rekindling that, because she really brought Olivia into our home," said Robinson.
Tricia Robinson also knows the power of crowdfunding, having recently succeeded in raising $18,000 with a GoFundMe page she set up for a friend faced with cancer and overwhelming hospital bills. Because pages need to be established by those 18 or older, Robinson helped her daughter and Sachs set up the GoFundMe page for Olivia, which went live August 24 and can be accessed by clicking here .
"They're both like big sisters to Olivia, and they really wanted to find some way they could help," said Robinson.
Over the first few days, some online donations have alread come in, with about $500 raised as of August 30. Robinson said she feels many in this community will respond and make a donation, once the word gets out.
"We live in a very special community. When people are in need in the community, people tend to reach out," she said.