Woman with cerebral palsy inspires joy with collection of handmade Halloween costumes
Darcy strives to make every day fun while working with Mariel – who is non-verbal and quadriplegic – but the weeks leading up to Halloween are particularly creative.
“They do a day program thing so we always dress (Mariel) up,” Darcy says. “That’s how this got started.”
The first Halloween, Darcy attached a bunch of colourful candies to a pair of slacks, so Mariel could be a “Smartie Pants.”
“(Mariel) will laugh,” Darcy smiles. “She‘ll let you know if she likes something.”
The "Smartie" costume was such a hit, Mariel’s dad Jim encouraged Darcy to keep the costume ideas coming.
“Oh yeah,” Jim smiles. “Let’s keep upping the ante on this!”
So Darcy started searching for inspiration online, before Jim began transforming Mariel’s wheelchair into a Harley Davidson.
Although Mariel was born with cerebral palsy, on Halloween she could feel "born to be wild."
“It’s such a joy to empower her every opportunity we get,” Jim smiles.
Many of Mariel’s past costumes have been powered by puns.
She once wore a brown girl-guide shirt with a sash covered in marijuana leaves and 4-20 badges to become a "Pot Brownie." Another year, Mariel was a "Pumpkin Pie," thanks to a jack o’lantern costume with the math symbol Pi carved in it.
Darcy says Mariel’s favourite costume was when her wheelchair was transformed into a royal throne and she was dressed as Queen Elizabeth with a stuffed corgi dog on her lap.
“It was great,” Darcy laughs. “It definitely builds our relationship.”
While Darcy’s spent the past couple years working as Mariel’s full-time caregiver, she’s lived the past 25 years being her little sister.
“The way I had to grow into an older sister role to take care of my older sister was different,” Darcy says. “But it’s something I wouldn’t change for the world.”
Darcy says Mariel has been one her greatest teachers, offering lessons in strength, compassion, and love.
“And she’s always taught us to move forward in the happiest ways,” Darcy says. “And not dwell on what shouldn’t have happened, or what can’t be.”
It’s why every Halloween, Darcy and Jim leave nothing to "chance" (cue the picture of Mariel dressed as a blackjack dealer), ensuring Mariel’s costume is a "gift" (cue the photo of Mariel as a huge, wrapped present), that "lifts" both her spirit and others (cue the image showing Mariel’s wheelchair turned into the bucket of a hot-hair ballon with the colourful balloons rising above her).
“When Mariel comes into a room, smiles come onto people’s faces,” Jim says. “I’m so proud of both my daughters.”
This year, Mariel will be wearing a T-shirt that says "she" and a tray attached to her wheelchair that looks like a sandy beach covered in shells with price-tags.
“She sells seashells by the seashore,” Darcy smiles.
Although Mariel’s costume’s a tongue-twister, there’s no doubt it will be another crowd-pleaser when she debuts it at her day program on Halloween.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.