WENTZVILLE, Mo. — A 10-year-old girl in Wentzville is trying to make a difference at her school.
After feeling left out on the playground, Melody Day decided she wanted to do something to help other students like her feel included.
Melody has dealt with a rocky road being born at 27 weeks with a 3-month NICU stay.
"Doctors basically told me that she wasn't going to be functioning and that she was going to be a vegetable," Her mom Taylor Day said. "People don't really put a lot of stock in miracles, but I live with one every day. Melody is like a beacon of light everywhere she goes, she has a smile that is contagious."
But nothing has stopped Melody, who has Cerebral palsy.
"She has to use a wheelchair she can't walk on her own she has braces every day to keep feet," her mom said.
Melody has overcome a lot of obstacles in her life and now, she wants to fix another problem that she sees every day at her school, Heritage Intermediate.
"Some kids hang out with me for a few minutes and they'll just go run away and just go play with all their other friends. I don't feel included," Melody said.
After this happened multiple times, Melody would go home expressing her frustrations.
"She would come home and express it's not fair, it's not fair, and I'm just like fair has nothing to do with it, it's what you make of the situation," Melody's mom said.
That's when something clicked.
"We should make a playground for the school with special needs. I want all kids to feel happy here, especially the kids that are special needs and I wanted to do it for future kids like me," Melody said.
She wants to create an all-abilities playground by installing a wheelchair-accessible merry-go-round.
Melody said even when things aren't fair, every child deserves to be happy and to make the most of every situation.
"I want kids to spread their imagination wide and this is one of the things that will spread their imagination wide and I just want them to be happy," she said.
Heritage Intermediate is coming up with ways on how to make this work. They said they are going to make it happen and they fully back her up.
Melody created a GoFundMe page with a goal of $10,000.
If you'd like to donate, you can click here.
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