All donations will go toward our mission projects! The missions we choose to tackle and fund will directly benefit individuals, families, and/or community initiatives that involve supporting people with severe neurological disabilities. Our promise is to always be transparent about how money is spent! See below to view our current mission projects.
We want to give the invaluable gift and experience of walking to a child like Karter! Our goal is to raise enough funds to gift one child/family their very own Trexo Robic Gait Training System by the end of this year. This is no small feat. We need your support! See our below for more information about it's benefits, and how Karter has used this amazing technology!
You may also send checks to:
KourageousKarter Foundation
PO Box 184
Hugo, MN 55038
Kaidon is 4 years old and lives in Oklahoma with his adoptive parents, Abbi and Brandon. He has a younger sister (age 2.5) and a baby sister on the way!
Kaidon was brutally injured as a 10 week old by his biological father. He was taken to a local hospital in Oklahoma which is where his mom, Abbi was working. Abbi knew he was meant to be her son, so Abbi and Brandon quickly became his foster parents. They were able to adopt him by his first birthday!
As a result of the injury, Kaidon is diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, and vision loss. He LOVES being a kid, being outside, music, lights, any kind movement to be involved. Like so many, Abbi gave up her job to be a full-time caregiver. Her husband works as a police officer, and they do everything they can to give Kaidon access to therapies and treatments to optimize his quality of life.
We awarded our first official scholarship to Alex, a 3 year-old little boy diagnosed with lissencephaly.
Elizabeth, his mother, experienced a relatively easy pregnancy and birth with Alex. In her words....
"Aside from a very minor heart murmur, his newborn stage was peppered with so much calm that we always joked he was going to wait until his teen years to give us any troubles. What we didn’t realize is that Alex was not intentionally being “easy”, his brain was getting bombarded by what we now know were seizures. We
weren’t aware that there were multiple types of seizures, so when Alex was
having Infantile Spasms as a newborn, we chalked it up to normal infant
behaviors.
At 3 months old, we couldn’t shake this feeling that something didn’t seem right. We tried hard not to compare our two babies, but when Alex wasn’t holding his head up, we were concerned.
Alex had a tonic clonic seizure, stopped breathing, turned blue, and was rushed to hospital. Our pediatrician was wrong; Alex was not healthy. After several invasive tests on his little body, we got a diagnosis of Lissencephaly. That means that Alex’s entire brain is smooth, there are no groves or ridges and there was very little development in the womb. He has also been diagnosed with
epilepsy, cortical visual impairment, cerebral palsy, autism, oropharyngeal
dysphagia, hearing impairment, amblyopia and double cataracts.
Alex just turned 3 in November. He just started preschool and has made
so many curious friends already. He is Mr. Athletic and can give you a good
shiner with the flick of one toy. He absolutely loves balls, his two favorite being soccer balls and yoga balls; and enjoys the sounds of slamming doors which is always so comical. He tries to smile to get out of anything, especially hard therapy. He is doted on by his big sister but can also be an annoying little
brother and pull hair like the best. He is joy in the tiniest body and that is about
the best statement we could use to describe him."
This sponsorship is for a 12-month lease, but conditions and criteria apply. Please read through the terms carefully before applying.
We will review all applications carefully, with great consideration before making our decision. We wish we could help everyone! Please feel free to email additional supporting documents to kourageouskarterfoundation@gmail.com.
We will make the assumption that everyone who is applying is an appropriate candidate. BUT the recipient must complete a formal assessment. Should the child be deemed an inappropriate candidate, we will have to select another recipient. If you've already completed the assessment process, please indicate that on the application! If not, this will be part of the terms after being selected for this sponsorship.
The Trexo requires an appropriately sized Rifton Pacer gait trainer. Some families may have this already, while others will need to purchase. Unfortunately, the purchase of the Rifton is NOT included.
Please read the application information before applying. At the end of the application information sheet, there is a link to the formal application. Please contact us directly if you have questions or concerns!
Every child deserves the opportunity to experience something as basic as walking. For kids like Karter, the Trexo Robotics technology allows them to feel what it's like to walk on their own with a typical gait pattern. In other words, it helps their bodies walk the way they are supposed to! Besides the experience of walking, we (and other parents) have noted improvements including: better head control, improved trunk control, neuromuscular health, and for Karter, more energy! To see Karter's body upright "walking" side-by-side his siblings is the intangible benefit science can't measure. For us, the experience is invaluable. We can't put a pricetag on it.
Although we can't put a pricetag on this, in reality it has a hefty one. When your child has medical complexities and the need for adaptive equipment, the cost of living is extreme. This technology is new, and not yet covered by insurance. Families like ours battle insurance companies all the time for essential equipment. Right now, the Trexo is considered a "luxury" item so many families can't afford. And some don't have the capacity required to fundraise for such an item. Walking shouldn't be considered a luxury or privilege. It is a basic experience every child deserves. That's where we come in! And we need your help!
We are calling on all KourageousKarter supporters to help with our mission. We want to raise money so we can give the gift and experience of walking. Our mission is to get at least one family one Trexo by the end of this year. That is our goal! The more money we raise, the more Trexos we can purchase. It's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Please help us accomplish this mission!
Kourageous Karter Race for Robot Legs 2022
Trexo Robotics is a gait training system that helps children with disabilities walk! It was developed by Manmeet Maggu to help his nephew with cerebral palsy walk. The work they have done, and the team they have are incredible (in our opinion). Learn more on their website!
We understand you may have questions. Please use this section to contact us about the application process!