Wheelchair-accessible van their daughter depends on was beyond repair. Then this happened.

It wasn’t long after Lacie Messier and Ray Muller welcomed a new daughter named Ciarra that they realized something was wrong.

Lacie is a housecleaner and Ray a handyman. The two already had three daughters between them, so they knew the normal development of a baby. Ciarra wasn’t hitting those marks.

When Ciarra was around 6 months old, her parents tried to help her stand, but her legs offered no support. More worrisome, she had a hard time keeping her head upright.

When she was a year and a half, the parents brought Ciarra for a recommended test called a muscle biopsy. Not long after, they were called into the neurologist’s office. Lacie knew it was a bad sign when, despite the waiting room being crowded, they were ushered to a room immediately.

That’s when the doctor told them Ciarra had a genetic syndrome called spinal muscular atrophy. The impact, throughout her life, would be just like it sounds, a challenging form of infirmity. Ciarra would forever need a motorized wheelchair.

The positive news was that she had no cognitive deficits. Over time, Ciarra also proved to have a great spirit. Despite her wheelchair, she wanted to be part of a mainstream classroom, and she was – at Providence’s Vartan Gregorian Elementary, Nathan Bishop Middle School and then E-Cubed Academy, with an assigned aide to help her navigate classes. Ciarra made good friends, often having them over for visits, some in wheelchairs, some not. She was determined to live a full life, and she did.

Every day, she would be taken to and from school on full-sized yellow buses retrofitted for students like Ciarra, up to a half dozen wheelchairs in one section, as well as kids in regular seats.

Ciarra’s parents were gratified that, despite her challenges, including the need for a feeding tube and a machine to help her breathe at night, Ciarra has remained spunky and happy. She likes playing Pictionary, listening to P!nk – as it’s spelled – and Taylor Swift. She likes spending time with her three older sisters and eating at Iggy’s in Warwick.

Lacie and Ray don’t make enough money to buy a house, so the family lives in a rented apartment on the more affordable part of Providence’s East Side, near North Main Street. Both parents work hard at their blue-collar jobs, but there’s no money for extras.

For example, paying for college was out of the question, so Lacie was thrilled that the Rhode Island Promise program guarantees free tuition at the Community College of Rhode Island. That’s where Ciarra enrolled last year, with dreams of becoming a journalist.

Lacie drove her daily to classes in both Providence and Warwick in a rusting Dodge Caravan with almost 200,000 miles. It was rigged with a metal ramp that unfolded out the side and an open interior where Ciarra’s chair could be secured.

Then came one of those crises that challenge families who are just barely making it. It became clear the van would need both a new engine and a new wheelchair ramp. Both would be pricey repairs. Lacie and Ray knew they couldn’t afford it.

They mentioned it to a neighbor, who said he was friends with the Grieco family, which owns Grieco Honda in Johnston, as well as a half dozen other regional dealerships and six more in Florida.

The neighbor called Robert Greico, 42, who runs the business with his brothers Michael Jr. and Dominic. Their dad started it in 1994.

The mutual friend described what Lacie and Ray’s family was up against, with Ciarra, who is now 19, in a motorized chair and their van in bad shape.

The family’s story got to Robert emotionally, and he told his general manager at Grieco Automotive Group, Robert McAuliffe, to do the repairs for free.

But when McAuliffe looked into it, he felt that no matter how much work they did, the van was so far gone that other things would soon start to break down. It wouldn’t be safe.

Robert Greico and his brothers talked about what to do, and the three made a decision.

On Tuesday morning, they sent a wheelchair taxi to pick up the family from Providence and take them to Grieco Honda in Johnston.

Lacie and Ray assumed it was to talk about the repairs. Robert Grieco received them, chatting just long enough for his staff to bring something into the showroom a few yards away.

The dealership had recently gotten in trade a Honda Odyssey EX van, fully equipped for a wheelchair, with a ramp that folds out the back hatch. The van was in great shape, and the dealership did a full maintenance check to make sure it was perfect. With the specialized ramp, Robert guessed it might sell in the mid or high $20,000s.

The Grieco brothers had long felt that life had been good to them, and here was a girl dealt a bad hand, now facing the need to take long rides on wheelchair-accessible buses to keep up with college. Given all that Ciarra had fought to overcome in her life, the brothers felt she should have her path made easier.

Robert told Lacie, Ray, Ciarra and other family members, who still thought that this was about repairing their old van, that he had something for them to see.

Homeless in RI: At Providence homeless encampment, Mark Patinkin finds stories of pain, hope and 'family'

He escorted them, with Ciarra following along in her motorized chair, into the showroom. That’s when Lacie saw the Odyssey van with a big red bow around the front. The whole dealership staff was gathered and began to applaud and cheer.

“We wanted to make going to college easier for you,” Robert explained to the Muller family, “so my brothers and I want to give you this van. It’s yours now.”

Lacie was so overwhelmed that she began to cry. She wasn’t the only one. Others did, too. Even Robert got choked up.

Then he said he had another gesture he wanted to make. He opened the van door. Inside was a large cardboard check made out to the family for $3,000. Hopefully, Robert said, it would help Ciarra with books, gasoline and other college expenses.

“Thank you,” her mom, Lacie, said. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

It took an hour or so to settle up the transfer of ownership and to put on temporary plates. Then the family was handed the keys. They headed out of Johnston directly to one of Ciarra’s favorite restaurants, Iggy’s in Warwick, where she ordered a doughboy and a burger to be taken home.

'The closest I’ve been to him': 80 years later a fallen soldier at last comes home

A few hours after the gifting of the van, I called Robert Grieco. He explained that with so much negativity and struggle in the world, it felt good to bring one family some joy. He got a bit choked up talking about it.

I also reached Lacie while the family was still at Iggy’s. I asked if the van will make a difference in their lives.

“Every single day,” she said.

She told me she was thankful there are good-hearted people out there willing to help those with struggles, like her daughter Ciarra.

Then, with their order from Iggy’s, they headed home in their new van.

mpatinki@providencejournal.com

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI girl with SMA receives wheelchair-accessible van from Grieco Honda