Girl battling rare neuromuscular disorder gets a surprise gift

A Surrey family, whose 11-year old daughter is battling a rare neuromuscular disorder that will eventually rob her of the ability to walk and communicate, experienced the altruistic kindness of a stranger today.

The gift, a Safe Step walk-in tub, will help ease some of the challenges Selena Yorke faces daily due to her degenerative disease.

The tub is key to Yorke’s care, who was diagnosed last year with Friedreich’s Ataxia and struggles with walking and doing things like putting her leg over the tub. The rare disorder affects about 1 in 50,000 people.

“She will slowly lose her ability to walk and right now, she’s struggling to walk and has a wheelchair she uses part-time,” says her mother Cari Yorke. “The disease affects every cell in her body, her heart and all her muscles. It can cause diabetes, scoliosis in her spine… so many things come with it.”

Yorke was chosen from several nominees for the donation of the walk-in tub and is the first Canadian nominee, Robert Hartley from Safe Step said.

The donation of the tub will go a long way since the family needs to entirely renovate their Surrey home to accommodate Yorke’s condition. They’re looking at a cost of roughly $80,000; which family and friends are helping them raise.