Over 400 bags of can tabs, weighing over 16,000 pounds, were collected to purchase wheelchairs for local recipients through the Tabs for Wheelchair program.

16-year-old Delaney Kolowca from Lorette says the program was able to provide her with new wheels for her wheelchair which, she adds, will help increase her independence and help her reduce the amount of strain being put on her shoulders.

"When we go for long walks or if we're traveling somewhere, these will help me get to where I need to be because I won't use as much effort as I usually would. It helps protect my shoulders because, during my surgery they did some shoulder reconstruction, so my shoulders are in a new place now and it's just helping to save them."

She adds it was amazing to see how many tabs were collected and how many supporters of the program there are.

Delaney's mom, Heather Kolowca, says her daughter has scoliosis and a surgery in November 2014, when Delaney was 13, found her condition to be worse than originally suspected adding, after the surgery to correct her spine position, she was paralyzed.

"In the late summer of 2014 Delaney began to notice the sensation to her feet and legs were changing," recalls Kolowca. "She had always been followed by a spinal doctor, so we made an appointment with him because her scoliosis was worsening at that point in time. By the time it came time for surgery she could still walk but she needed to hang onto things and her gait wasn't very steady."

She says her daughter asked the surgeon what her chances of walking properly again were. Kolowca notes the doctor was hopeful and said there was a 75% chance of restoring her walk, 20% chance it would stay the same, and a 5% chance she would become paralyzed. She adds, once the surgeons started working they found Delaney's condition far more complex than imagined.

"Unfortunately she fell into the worst category. So, she was in ICU for about a week and then in an acute care ward for a month. After that, she was placed in an equivalent of children's long-term recovery for eight months. So, she was in the hospital for one week shy of nine months."

Kolowca says since her daughter was in the hospital for almost nine months, she missed almost a year of school, only returning in September 2015. She notes, while in the hospital, Delaney was able to take a class but also worked very hard to catch up and is currently on track to graduate with her class next year.

"She has worked tremendously hard and we just couldn't be more proud that she has caught up with everybody and is moving forward, looking at what life is going to be like down the road just like all the other kids her age, so that's very exciting for us."

Kolowca notes the Tabs for Wheelchair program has been a very tangible way to see the love and support from others adding it's an easy way to help others.

In addition to scoliosis, Kolowca says about five years ago when Delaney was 12/13-years-old their dentist found something suspicious and sent them to a specialist who found Delaney has a condition called Gorlin Syndrome which causes tumors to form in her jaw and is accompanied with Basal Cell Carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. During the initial surgeries, she notes Delaney had 17 tumors removed from her jaw, three the size of golf balls, and 120 cancerous skin lesions. Since then, Kolowca notes Delaney continues to have regular check-ups and surgeries for tumors or skin lesions when necessary.

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