At just three months old, she was all gummy smiles and tiny fingers wrapped around her mother’s pinky. Every day held new possibilities — first giggles, first words, first steps — waiting just around the corner. Then, in a single violent moment, all of that changed.

While in the care of a babysitter, Aaliyah was shaken so severely that her brain and body were irreparably damaged. It was a confirmed case of Shaken Baby Syndrome, and it nearly cost her life.
 

The injury left Aaliyah permanently blind and set off a cascade of devastating diagnoses: severe cerebral palsy, need for a permanent feeding tube, and eventually Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a rare and incurable form of epilepsy that causes relentless seizures. She would likely never walk. Never talk. Never see her mother’s face again.

And yet, even then, her story was far from over.



Today, Aaliyah is eleven years old. She is nonverbal and fully dependent on her mom for every aspect of care. At 65 pounds and 3 feet 9 inches tall, she relies on her wheelchair to move through the world.

Her mother, a special education teacher and Aaliyah’s sole caregiver, lifts her in and out of the car by hand and hoists her 64-pound wheelchair into the back of their aging vehicle multiple times a day. The physical toll is a lot. The risk is constant. Aaliyah has already undergone two hip surgeries in the last five years, and one wrong transfer could mean another.



Still, every appointment must be made. Every therapy session, every specialist visit. Living in rural Central Texas, means those trips are often more than 120 miles round trip, sometimes several times a week, to Austin.

There are days when exhaustion threatens to take over, when her mom’s arms ache from lifting and her back strains under the weight. There are moments when the loneliness of doing it all alone feels overwhelming. But then, there is Aaliyah — and everything shifts.
 

Despite everything she’s endured, her world is still alive with happiness. Music makes her light up. Stories make her smile. And nothing brings her more delight than Princess Pulverizer, the bold and brilliant character in her favorite book series. Aaliyah leans in to every chapter, laughing and squealing at the princess who refuses to act like one, who trades fancy gowns for a suit of armor and chooses quests over castles.
 

Princess Pulverizer doesn’t wait to be rescued. She charts her own path, topples obstacles with courage and creativity, and faces every challenge with a big heart. She is fierce. She is determined. She is unstoppable.

Just like Aaliyah.

“She loves to be read to,” her mom shared. “She loves music. She loves anything that lights up or plays a sound. She is so full of life.”

It is impossible to tell Aaliyah’s story without acknowledging the tragedy at its core. She was robbed of her sight, her mobility, her independence, all before she could even crawl.

Her mother’s life was rewritten, too. Instead of watching her daughter’s first steps, she learned how to manage a feeding tube. Instead of saving for college, she now saves for medical expenses and equipment. 

And yet, amid all the heartbreak, there is something else: unwavering love. It fuels the endless drives to Austin. It powers through sleepless nights after seizures. It shows up every morning to lift Aaliyah into her car seat, again and again, even when muscles ache and backs protest.

But love alone can’t solve everything. Even the strongest heroes need allies. And just like Princess Pulverizer never completes her quests alone, Aaliyah and her mom needed help too. That’s where the Chive Charities community stepped in, and changed everything.

For them, a wheelchair-accessible vehicle is a lifeline. Thanks to donors like you, they’ll receive a fully-equipped ADA van for a total impact of $55,000. It means the long drives from home to Austin, and everywhere else they need to go, just got safer, easier, and infinitely more fun.

Aaliyah’s journey is the story of a little girl who refuses to be defined by what was taken from her, and instead by what remains: her laughter, her light, her love of music and stories, and the way she still listens, wide-eyed, to the adventures of a princess who never gives up.



Because of you, Princess Pulverizer’s biggest fan has the support she needs to keep writing her story. Your generosity gave Aaliyah and her mom the ability to keep slaying those dragons. 

This October 10th—Team 10 Percent Day—we rally together for heroes (and princesses). Every dollar raised supports first responders, Veterans, and families facing their toughest battles. Because when we show up #ForTheOne, we change everything. 

Stand with us #ForTheOne. Fundraise, share, and join Team 10 Percent Day. DONATE HERE.