There is so much we take for granted. Eating at a table. Going to the movies. Driving a car. These small conveniences can sometimes be inconvenient – even impossible -- for our patients, especially when they are wheelchair-bound.

This summer 6-year-old Melvin Harris’ family received a tomato seat, courtesy of an anonymous foundation and La Rabida’s Pass It Forward program. The seats can cost up to $600, but the way they change family dynamics is priceless.

The tomato seat allows Melvin to sit beside his family, eat and drink safely, and engage in shared experiences during mealtimes.

When they can afford it, families contribute 10 percent of the price of the seat.

“He’s interacting as opposed to just sitting in his wheelchair or on the couch,” says Paula, Melvin’s grandmother.

Six families have received tomato seats through the Pass it Forward program since 2019.

“He’s bright, he’s real bossy, but even though he doesn’t walk or talk he does communicate,” Paula says.

When he was an infant, Melvin was malnourished. Testing later showed he had cerebral palsy.

“We realized he wasn’t hitting any milestones,” his grandmother recalls. A nurse, she suspected something wasn’t quite right. When he was just six months old, Melvin’s grandmother became his legal guardian.

“It’s been a journey,” she says. “You’re going to make me get emotional. The therapy team here is awesome. They have worked with him since day one.”

In mid-July Melvin had double hip surgery – a procedure that lasted more than seven hours. His grandmother says she was thrilled he would get to recover at La Rabida and receive intense physical therapy.

“Even though he’s here I can rest at night knowing that he’s going to be taken care of,” Paula says.

“I miss not one minute of sleep when I’m gone from here because I know that I trust this hospital, and I believe in this hospital.”

“They have a great team all the way around.”