Toddler Mobility Trainer
Josie
Sixteen months old · Minnie Mouse fan · Big opinions
Josie was born with Moebius syndrome, a rare condition that affects the nerves behind facial expression and eye movement. She has low muscle tone, and until now she has had no way to move herself toward the things she wants. Here is her story.
- Who
- Josie, 16 months
- Diagnosis
- Moebius syndrome
- Loves
- Minnie Mouse and anything that lights up
- Built by
- EcoPrint
Meet Josie
Sassy, opinionated, and very sure of what she wants
Josie is sixteen months old and already has a big personality. She knows exactly what she wants and exactly what she does not want, and she is never shy about telling you which is which.
Her favorite things are her binky, anything that lights up, and Minnie Mouse. Near the top of the list is being held by her daddy. She loves the small comforts, especially the ones that come with being close to the people she loves.
She lives with her dad, Jacob, her mom, Kandace, and her big brother, Jeremiah. They celebrate every milestone she reaches, and she has been reaching plenty of them.
Her story Sixteen months old, and reaching every milestone in her own time Written with her family. About a three minute read.
Josie was born with Moebius syndrome, a rare neurological condition that mainly affects the sixth and seventh cranial nerves. Those are the nerves that move the eyes from side to side and control the muscles of facial expression.
Support for breathing and eating
Josie also has difficulty swallowing and managing her secretions. She uses a tracheostomy and a ventilator to support her breathing, and a G-tube to support her nutrition. She spends time off the ventilator throughout the day as she tolerates it.
She faces challenges that most children her age never will. She also keeps growing, and keeps reaching new milestones on her own timeline.
“Moebius syndrome may affect the nerves responsible for a smile, but it can never take away the love, joy, and beautiful spirit within her.”
Her family
Every skill is a big one
Josie has hypotonia, or low muscle tone, which makes building strength and controlling her movements harder. One of her biggest milestones so far has been learning to hold her head up and sit on her own. She has started hitting the buttons on her toys on purpose, and she keeps getting stronger in her arms and legs.
Every new skill, no matter how small it may look to someone else, is a big victory for Josie and for her family.
How she gets around today
Right now Josie uses a stroller for outings, and she is carried when she needs to get from one place to another. Both get her where she needs to go. Neither lets her decide where that is.
When something catches her attention, she has to wait for someone to bring her to it or bring it to her. For a little girl with this many opinions, that is a lot of waiting.
What her family wants you to know
Josie is a little girl just like any other child her age. She has her own personality, her own preferences, her own interests, and her own dreams. She deserves the same chances to play, explore, learn, and experience the world as anyone else.
She may do some things differently, and she may need extra support along the way. Her diagnosis does not define who she is. Her family hopes people will see Josie for the amazing little girl she is, and not only her medical needs.
When we asked what her TMT should look like, the answer came quickly. Pink, red, cheetah print, and Minnie Mouse.
Josie’s family
Told with their permission
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”Psalm 139:13–14 (NIV) · A reminder that Josie was wonderfully made
Before the TMT How Josie gets around Where she is today, and the one thing none of it gives her.
01 Holding her head up
With low muscle tone, head control takes real strength. She has it now, and her family is incredibly proud of it.
02 Sitting on her own
She can hold herself up in a seated position without help, one of the biggest milestones she has reached so far.
03 A stroller for outings
It gets her out of the house and into the world. Someone else is always steering.
04 Carried
Everywhere else, an adult picks her up and decides where she goes. There is no version of the day where she chooses.
Josie has strong opinions and, until now, no way to act on them by herself. Everything she uses to get around moves her. None of it lets her move.
What she needed was something that holds her steady, so the strength she is building in her arms and legs can go into taking herself somewhere.
After the TMT What the Toddler Mobility Trainer changes Four things that were not available to her before.
The TMT is a light, open source, 3D printed mobility device. It seats a child securely at the right height, supports them where they need it, and lets them push themselves wherever they want to go. Every one is built to fit the child it is going to. Josie’s is pink, red, and cheetah print, with a Minnie Mouse bow on each wheel, because those are her things.
01 She picks the direction
When a toy catches her eye, she can go get it herself instead of waiting for someone to carry her to it.
02 Support where she needs it
Seated securely, she is not spending all of her strength on staying upright. That leaves more for pushing herself forward.
03 Alongside other kids
She can explore at her own level and play next to other children, joining in on everyday life with her family.
04 Room to be curious
Her family put it simply. They want her to be free to be curious, make her own choices, and experience the world in a way that means something to her.
Delivery day
Pink, red, and cheetah print, exactly her style
Photographs shared with her family’s permission.
- Designed by
- Caleb DeBass
- Assembled by
- Classie, Joshua, and Caleb
- Delivered by
- Caleb, Nuha, and Luke
Built around her
Made for the way Josie lives
Room for her ventilator
Josie relies on a ventilator, and her TMT carries it right along with her. It has its own spot to sit, plus a strap that holds it securely in place, so it goes wherever she does.
Back home
The first photo her family sent us from home. Josie in her TMT, using the 3D printed tray, with a toy right where she can reach it. She loves it.
What it takes to put one kid in motion The numbers behind Josie’s build
- TMT
- MakeGood TMT kit
- The open source design we print from
- 250
- Hours printing
- Roughly, start to finish
- $200
- In materials
- The full cost of the device
- $0
- Cost to the family
- Every device, every time
What happens next
There is another family already waiting
The queue behind Josie keeps growing. Three ways to move it along.
One
Fund the next build
Our hours are volunteered and the files are free. What we buy is plastic and hardware. Gifts routed to EcoPrint through MakeGood go straight into the next device.
$200 covers one complete device
Sponsor a deviceTwo
Build one yourself
If you own a printer, you are most of the way there. The Toddler Mobility Trainer files are open on MakerWorld, the same ones we printed for Josie.
Files are open and free to use
Get the filesThree
Know a family like hers
Most families never hear that any of this exists. Eligibility comes down to a sizing chart, and there is no cost and no insurance involved at any point.
No cost to the family, ever
How to request a deviceThank you to Josie, Jacob, Kandace, and Jeremiah for trusting EcoPrint with this one, and to MakeGood for the design and the network that made it possible.
Who made this build possible
Bambu Lab
Sponsored this build, supplying both the printers and the filament Josie’s TMT was printed in.
Edited and produced by Caleb DeBass