Mattia is 14 years old and has a smile that can brighten your days. His big brown eyes tell a whole world: his curiosity, his desire to live, his desire for freedom. Since birth he has lived with Infantile Cerebral Palsy that makes him completely dependent on others . He has no control over his limbs and trunk, he doesn't speak, but those who know him know that he makes himself understood.
“It just takes empathy and sensitivity, like with any other boy his age,” say mother Paola and father Antonio Compagnone.
Mattia loves to travel . Just put him in the car and he forgets about everything, even eating. "Three years ago we crossed Italy, from Madonna di Campiglio to Calabria, and he was the happiest in the world, with his eyes he "ate" every landscape and every place we passed through", his parents say. But today, that joy risks dying out. The family car is no longer suitable for transporting him with his wheelchair. And every trip is becoming increasingly difficult.
"Mattia is growing, and moving him manually is now complicated. We need an equipped car, which can allow him to get in without effort and travel safely. It's not just about guaranteeing him freedom, but also about protecting our health to be able to take care of him in the best way possible", explain Paola and Antonio.
For this reason, they have decided to launch an appeal . A fundraiser on GoFundMe to buy an adapted vehicle, which will allow Mattia to continue to fully live his daily life: school, outings with his little sister Marta, the trips out of town that he loves so much. "We would like to be able to take him everywhere without difficulty, to let him experience the world without limits. We do not want his disability to become a prison," they explain.
Mattia doesn't ask for much: "just to be able to get in the car and look at the world from the window, to feel the wind on his face, to laugh carefree next to his family." And perhaps, with the help of those who want to listen to his story, that dream could soon become reality.
