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Parents Dream Of New Home To Give Daughter With Cerebral Palsy Room To Grow

By Linze Rice | June 14, 2016 8:52am
 Matt and Heather Sweetman have four children, including 2-year-old Finley, who has a form of cerebral palsy that makes movement and speech difficult. The family is raising money by selling art with the hopes of buying a home better suited for Finley in the future.
Finley's House
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ROGERS PARK — By many accounts, 2-year-old Finley Sweetman is a normal toddler: She likes to play peek-a-boo and build forts with her brothers and sisters, giggles when she's happy and makes it known when she's fussy.

But she also has quadriplegia cerebral palsy, which makes it hard for her to speak and control her physical movement.

Now, her parents hope to raise money with a new online gift store, Finley's House, to help pay for the down payment on a new home that better accommodates their daughter's unique needs.

Finley and her parents, Matt and Heather, along with her two older brothers and older sister, live in a vibrant Rogers Park four-flat on the top floor. Though they love their apartment, it's not a sustainable living space for Finley as she grows and requires aids to help her get around, they said.

Right now, Finley weighs about 25 pounds and must be carried up four flights of stairs daily — a struggle that will only grow as she moves on to prekindergarten next year and will require a wheelchair.

Because Finley's type of cerebral palsy causes stiffness in her limbs and weakness in her neck and spine, she's unable to cling to her parents as they carry her — so carrying her is like trying to carry a "sack of potatoes," her parents said.

Over and over each week, Finley's parents hold on tightly to their bubbly daughter and carry her to and from physical and speech therapy, to doctors visits and family outings.

The Sweetmans said they've been lucky to have affordable access to those doctors, therapies and organizations that help support Finley in the city, some of which are provided at no cost by the state. Money is tight in their household, they said: Matt works as a pastor, and Heather is a full-time mom and caregiver.

Finley Sweetman, 2, is a happy-go-lucky toddler with a disorder that makes physical movement, including speech, difficult. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]

Through the #FinleysHouse campaign and online store, visitors can either make a donation or purchase photos and canvases that depict inspiring scenes and quotes.

Since they launched the website three weeks ago, the Sweetmans said they've been "amazed" at the outpouring of support. They've earned about $27,000 of their $250,000 goal so far.

The Sweetmans moved to Chicago seven years ago so Matt could found a church and his family could settle down and begin to grow. They believe raising a family in the city was their "calling."

Matt and his wife said they would love to be able to stay in Rogers Park, where they feel a deep sense of "camaraderie," specifically with local school leaders and other parents who have shown them kindness and support.

"I mean the $26,000 is phenomenal, but I think the biggest thing I've been encouraged by is just peoples' kindness towards our family, and just the encouragement," Heather said. "We all have difficult things we're going through, and you don't know ... it just shows you the power of sharing your lives with each other.

I don't know how people get through this thing without community."

The Sweetmans found out Finley had cerebral palsy when she was about 1 year old.

Those scans found that Finley had endured a brain injury of an unknown cause in the womb around 20 weeks.

Through their website, she also said they've already begun building out a small network of new connections who have been touched by Finley's story, and hope to one day begin a nonprofit of their own aimed at helping families who are affected by cerebral palsy.

For now, the Sweetmans hope to continue raising money while they work to support their daughter, about to "age out" of programs that are provided for free by the state.

Over the next year, they hope to raise enough to help buy a new home that is either on the ground floor or has an elevator.

As long as their daughter, and other children, can continue living fully in the city, the Sweetmans said they'll be happy.

The Finley family lives in Rogers Park, and said they want to continue living in the city to give their children a diverse upbringing. [Provided]

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