She’s the ultimate “Push Goddess.”
Living a majority of her life as a paraplegic, Sharina Jones knew the challenges being a wheelchair-bound mother would bring. But thanks to one high school student, her journey in motherhood has gotten a little easier.
“A lot of my friends have babies, and they are out running with their babies in the stroller, and I thought ‘What am I going to do?’ ” Jones, 35, told Fox 2 Detroit.
Jones, of Michigan, just wanted to take her baby for a stroll, and thanks to 16-year-old University of Detroit Jesuit High School & Academy student Alden Kane and the University of Detroit Mercy, Jones got the chance.
Through both a STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — course and the university, Kane designed an adaptable stroller for the new mom, according to the high school. The stroller snaps on to the wheelchair using steel tubing.
“After six months of hard work, six months of working in the machine shop designing it up, it was priceless seeing the design on her wheelchair, being used with her child in it,” Kane told FOX.
Now, Kane says he wants to perfect the prototype and eventually patent the adaptable stroller.
As for Jones, the stroller is an addition to the long list of ways that she manages to live a full and active life despite being a paraplegic.
Jones was just five years old when she was accidentally shot by another child playing with a gun. Determined to get her mind off of her shortcomings and on to helping others, Jones established the “Think Beyond the Chair” organization, which provides social activities, support and education for people with disabilities.
She even wrote a book titled Life of a Push Goddess, sharing her life experiences following the tragic accident.
“You’re still the same person, it’s up to you how you want to live life,” she told Fox of life as a paraplegic.
This article originally appeared at People.com
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Trump’s Message Worked on Latino Men
- What Trump’s Win Could Mean for Housing
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Sleep Doctors Share the 1 Tip That’s Changed Their Lives
- Column: Let’s Bring Back Romance
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com