Brittany Neal started the project after seeing what the right equipment did for her daughter Stormi, who has a rare genetic condition.
CANTON, Ohio — Brittany Neal always wanted to be a mom. When she and her husband realized they couldn’t have biological children, she found her answer while working as an EKG tech at Akron Children’s Hospital — where she saw foster children who had no one in their corner.
“There’s so many kids out there that need our help,” Neal said.
She became a foster and adoptive mom in North Canton. Her youngest daughter, Stormi, is 3 1/2 years old and has Bainbridge-Ropers Syndrome — a rare genetic condition so uncommon that fewer than 300 people in the world have been diagnosed with it, including Stormi’s biological mother. Stormi is nonverbal and also has autism. Her bone age runs about a year and a half behind.
Stormi has a wheelchair. But it was a 3D-printed mobility trainer that gave her something that wheelchair couldn’t.
“Since we’ve had it made, she will roll herself around our house in it,” Neal said. “She wants to move. She just doesn’t have the means to do it the way she wants to do it.”
That moment of independence sparked something in Neal. She started Stormi’s Mobility Project — building 3D-printed mobility chairs for children with disabilities whose families can’t get them approved through insurance or can’t afford them out of pocket.
“We make mobility chairs out of a 3D printer, sourced through Make Good,” she explained. “It takes about a month to build and costs around $200 per chair.”
Neal never charges the families who need one.
“Every foster situation is different,” she said. “This gives them more access to the equipment they need without worrying about the out-of-pocket costs.”
Getting equipment approved for children with complex needs has become increasingly difficult, Neal said, as Medicaid continues to cut coverage. For families in the foster care system especially, the barriers can feel impossible.
Neal connects families in need with Stark County’s Help Me Grow program. So far, she has built four chairs — Stormi’s and three others — funded through community donations, including an anonymous gift and a chair sponsored by her grandmother.
Anyone with a 3D printer can sign up to be a maker through the Make Good platform.
Stormi, for her part, is thriving.
“She is the happiest little girl. She smiles constantly, laughs constantly,” Neal said. “She lights up every room, and she changed my life, my husband’s life.”
Neal adopted Stormi last August. She is also in the process of adopting Stormi’s older half-sister, Madison, 11.
For Neal, the project is deeply personal. She has been open about her own struggles with mental health and addiction — and has been sober for nearly nine years.
“I want to show other people that it gets better,” she said. “You just have to keep trying, not give up.”
Families in need can connect with Stormi’s Mobility Project through Stark County’s Help Me Grow program. To donate or learn more, visit Stormi’s Mobility Project.