RICHLAND, Wash. -Being able to play out in the backyard is a big experience for kids of all ages. For kids in wheelchairs, backyards filled with just grass aren’t always the best for playing.Over the last seven months, one backyard has been transformed with thehelp of the Wishing Star Foundation and community members.Four-year-old Finnley has been diagnosed with Coffin-Siris Syndrome, a rare condition requiring different therapies and treatments in addition to making it difficult to move on her own.Now after months of work, the backyard has a playhouse, a concrete area going around most of the backyard that gives Finnley more access to the space and a swing that has wheelchair access.“I mean the nice thing about the space is she’s going to be able to use it for years and years to come,” said Finnley’s mom, Cody Couchman.The playhouse has a special ball pit, sensory board and other toys that allow her to play independently.“There’s not a lot of places in our community that people, kiddos, with special needs and kiddos in wheelchairs can go and play on a playground,” Outreach Manager with the Wishing Star Foundation Ashleigh Rogers said.The remodel might have been for Finnley, but her mom said many of the people involved in the volunteering and support have become a community and many of them are invited back to enjoy the space with their own families.“She is a light in everybody’s life that meets her and so she truly is teaching us more than we’ll ever teach her,” Couchman said.
