Project Fire Buddies Helps Kid With Rett Syndrome Get Dream Bike

OAK FOREST, IL — An 11-year-old girl, got a surprise from The Oak Forest Fire Department's Project Fire Buddies this week.

The Project Fire Buddies program with the OFFD is a way for firefighters to go the extra mile for children who are battling or living with challenging illnesses. Lily Brown, a fire buddy of three years, has a condition called Rett Syndrome— a rare genetic neurological disorder that causes severe impairments, affecting nearly every aspect of the child’s life.

Due to the syndrome, Lily has developed scoliosis, a condition described by the Mayo Clinic as a sideways curvature of the spine or backbone. Due to COVID-19, Lily hasn't been able to receive her normal physical therapy treatments, resulting in her scoliosis becoming worse, according to Jennifer Brown, Lily's mother.

Lily needed a new special needs tricycle— after outgrowing her current bike— that would help her spine stay in line and prevent further permanent damage. The cost of the bike was around $4,000, according to Jennifer.

Jennifer said she reached out to the Fire Buddies for help. The program was able to convince the manufacturer, E-needs to give the family a discount, but still needed to come up with $2,400.

"Her bike was not safe anymore," Jennifer said. "About a month ago I asked if they're able to help in any way, and they said to give the program some time to get back to us. Within days, they called and said we found a donor."

Jennifer said that they ordered the bike in Lily's favorite color, lime green. When the bike arrived, the Fire Buddies surprised Lily by delivering it with a parade of fire trucks and firefighters.

"I told Lily, that she had some visitors coming, but she didn't know why or what they were bringing. There were about six fire engines that came, and they had their sirens on... Her eyes lit up, and she had the biggest smile on her face when they rolled the bike out of the ambulance," Jennifer said. "She looks awesome in it. She is as straight as an arrow."

The Fire Buddies shared this post on Facebook about Lily and her family:

The donor, a family owned business called Andres Medical Billing Ltd, said they wanted to help by paying the remaining amount of the bike.

"I had heard about Lily's story and talked to the owner, Pat Banette Mannix, about possibly paying a portion of the bike. He said 'absolutely not. We are going to donate the entire dollar amount of the bike,'" Kristen Anzelmo, employee at Andres Medical said. "We are so lucky to be an essential business and to still be operating... so this was the right thing to do and it's a great cause."

Jennifer said that the family is very thankful for the donation and the Fire Buddies for helping Lily get a bike that she can use through adulthood.

"I can't even tell you how grateful we are, it is not something that we could have done on our own, and they made it so special for her," Jennifer said. "I'm just really proud of Oak Forest. Not all towns have that small town feel where everyone looks out for each other. These guys are heroes."