Finding Strength in the Center Strip: Cassandra’s Path to Parafencing
When Cassandra became disabled in 2025 and began navigating life with limited mobility in her legs, the transition was both physical and emotional. Daily life quickly came to include a cane, an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO), and a mobility scooter. But even as her circumstances changed, Cassandra knew she wanted something that would keep her active and focused on moving forward. She found that purpose in parafencing, a fast-paced adaptive sport that demands agility, balance, and precision. The challenge was that participating required highly specialized equipment, including a competition-ready wheelchair that could cost thousands of dollars. Without the financial means to purchase one, Cassandra’s dream of competing felt just out of reach. That’s when she reached out to May We Help.
When the Right Tool Doesn’t Exist
For many people with disabilities, the barrier to independence or participation in a passion isn’t the desire to try. It’s access to the right equipment. When a commercially available solution doesn’t meet someone’s needs, May We Help steps in with something unique: a volunteer team of engineers, designers, makers, therapists, and medical professionals who create custom adaptive devices at no cost to recipients.
Inside the organization’s workshop, volunteers collaborate to design and build one-of-a-kind solutions that enable people with disabilities to live more independently and pursue the activities they love. Each project begins with a simple idea: if the right tool doesn’t exist, it can
be created. For Cassandra, that meant transforming a standard wheelchair into a highly specialized piece of sports equipment.
Engineering a Solution for the Strip
Two May We Help volunteers, Rusty and Sara Kosel, took on Cassandra’s request. Their first step was to search through May We Help’s Adaptive Equipment inventory to find a wheelchair that could serve as the foundation for a parafencing build. Once they located the right base chair, the real work began. Parafencing has strict safety and competition requirements, and Cassandra’s chair needed to meet a long list of specifications before it could be used in an official event. The volunteer team carefully engineered modifications that would allow Cassandra to compete safely while also maximizing comfort and control. They fabricated custom wheel and arm guards designed to meet the league’s safety standards and protect both the athlete and equipment during intense matches. They also reworked the chair’s seat and cushioning to provide the stability Cassandra needed for the sport’s signature movements such as lunging, parrying and striking with precision. Every adjustment was designed with the goal of giving Cassandra the confidence and stability to compete.
From Workshop to Competition
Thanks to the ingenuity of the May We Help volunteer team, Cassandra’s dream quickly became reality. On February 14, 2025, Cassandra competed in her first parafencing competition using the customized wheelchair built specifically for her. What once felt like an impossible barrier became an opportunity to participate in a sport that brought her energy, focus and optimism. Moments like these are exactly why May We Help exists. Each custom project is more than a piece of equipment. It’s a doorway to independence, inclusion and possibility. Across the country and beyond, May We Help volunteers design adaptive solutions that allow recipients to pursue passions ranging from sports and music to education and everyday living.
In 2023 alone, the organization received more than 1,200 requests for help, and volunteers logged over 10,000 hours creating life-changing devices for people in need.
More Than a Wheelchair
To Cassandra, the modified wheelchair is far more than equipment for a sport. It represents community support and the belief that a disability should never prevent someone from pursuing what they love. And to the volunteers who worked on the project, it’s another reminder of why they give their time and talent. At May We Help, every custom solution tells a story. Sometimes it’s a child gaining access to toys they can finally play with. Sometimes it’s a musician able to hold an instrument again. And sometimes, it’s an athlete stepping onto the strip for the first time, ready to compete. Cassandra’s story is a powerful example of what happens when compassion, creativity, and engineering come together with the simple goal of helping someone move forward.
