Cayden Prescott recently received a special gift that has completely transformed his life. The 17-year-old McDonough resident was born without a right thigh bone and lost his foot to amputation by age two, wearing a prosthesis for several years. In the fall of 2022, he went in for a spinal fusion procedure in hopes of seeing physical improvement, but he had a stroke during surgery and is now paralyzed from the waist down.

During his 11-week hospital stay, one of his nurses at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Dina Parks, wanted to find some help for the family and asked Cayden’s mother, Samara Prescott, if it would be all right to make some inquiries. Parks and some coworkers pulled together a GoFundMe campaign that paid for a stairlift in the Prescotts’ two-story home. “I am a nurse also,” said Samara. “But I can’t lift him.”

The stairlift was only the first step. Parks contacted Sunshine on a Ranney Day, and the result was a much-needed bathroom renovation. The charity also donated a manual wheelchair for Cayden to use upstairs in the house. His motorized wheelchair, which weighs 385 pounds, is used everywhere else. According to its website, Sunshine on a Ranney Day is a metro Atlanta charity that “transforms the lives of children with special needs by creating dream spaces that bring comfort, joy, and independence … at no cost to the families we serve.”

Samara Prescott and her husband, who works with a local law enforcement agency, were overwhelmed by the finished room. This wheelchair-accessible bathroom allows Cayden to completely take care of himself without any assistance.

The family of four includes Cayden’s sister. The renovation was a four-week project done primarily during the summer when the kids were at home. “They were very accommodating,” said Samara Prescott of the work crew. During the final days of construction, when unique touches were added to the decor and infrastructure, the bathroom was closed off so that the family could be surprised at the reveal.

Now in his senior year at Luella High School, Cayden is living more like a typical teenager than he would have ever imagined since his paralysis. “He loves it,” said his mother. “It has given him a new sense of independence and normalcy that he had before. “Once he is up and dressed for school, he can go in and do what he needs to do, then get on the stairlift and he’s off to school.” For more information about this and other similar projects, visit sunshineonaranneyday.com.

By Monroe Roark