Why CDS

Novah is one of the amazing children who comes to CDS. When her mom was expecting Novah, through an ultrasound, they discovered that her head was shaped like a lemon and suspected that she would be born with developmental challenges. When she was born, Novah was diagnosed with spina bifida and other developmental disabilities. Her mom said she was hurt and wondered “why her”. She said she did everything right with all her prenatal appointments and did not know why she had a child with a disability.

Several months later after multiple life-saving surgeries on her head and her back, they learned about the Wonder Center at CDS. The Wonder Center is a daycare center for medically fragile children. Children that come to the WC are not able to go to a regular day care center because of their disabilities.

Eboni, Novah’s mom, said she sat in the parking lot and cried the first day she brought Novah to the Wonder Center. She said is was too hard to trust someone to take care of her precious child. Now, fast forward five years, and Novah has flourished. She is so smart and has such a wonderful determined spirit. While Novah continues to work on strengthening skills to have better use of her arms and legs, she is also learning to use a motorized wheelchair. Next fall, Novah will be ready to go to school.

Novah is a star in our community. Her family is frequently on TV and in the newspaper advocating for children with disabilities. She is one of the special children of the 8,000 children that we serve every year. They inspire us to do the work we do so that each child will have the best possible outcome.