Engineering Hope: How One Family's Loss Is Giving Children Their First Freedom
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”
The words are carved into the headstone of the Gable family’s five-year-old son, Matthew.
Today, his parents help other children find that strength in motion.
The Gable family founded Matthew’s Gift to support families raising children with medical complexities. In December 2025, that purpose found a partner in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Through a $30,000 philanthropic investment, Matthew’s Gift is funding a project that looks simple at first glance: modifying ride-on toy cars for children with disabilities. The need behind it, however, is urgent. Pediatric power wheelchairs can cost thousands of dollars and are rarely prescribed before age five, leaving many younger children without independent mobility.
At Embry-Riddle, three undergraduate students in biomechanical engineering—Victoria Meléndez, Lauren S. Falzarano and Emilee A. Imler—are closing that gap one child at a time. All three seniors are part of the university’s Biomedical Systems track. Ruben Nunez, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, is also supporting the project.
Together, the team is transforming a Ford Bronco Power Wheels® vehicle into a customized mobility device, complete with adaptive steering and reinforced seating. Every modification is designed around a specific child’s body, abilities and medical needs.
“We’re creating a platform for inclusive play,” the students say.
In practice, that means something simple and profound: a child gripping a steering wheel for the first time, feeling the vehicle respond and choosing their own direction.
Working with faculty advisors—Mechanical Engineering Professor Dr. Victor Huayamave and Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Physiology Dr. Alesha Fleming—the team is navigating Institutional Review Board approvals to ensure safety is never left to chance. They are fitting the child, designing custom 3D-printed components and rigorously testing each system. Every decision is carefully documented so future teams can build on their work.
For Dr. Huayamave, the project reshapes how students understand their profession.
“This experience is especially impactful because students collaborate closely with faculty from other departments, as well as clinicians from hospitals,” he says. “They see how engineering solutions can have a direct and meaningful impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their caregivers. That perspective is incredibly motivating and educational.”
The impact of Matthew’s Gift will extend far beyond a single vehicle. Equipment funded through the gift—including advanced multi-material 3D-printing tools—will remain in the Biomedical Systems Lab long after this project is complete. Future students will use them to support other children, expanding access and building on the knowledge created by today’s team.
Before this partnership began, Matt Gable once watched his son grip the steering wheel of a toy Power Wheels car and light up as it rolled forward. It was a small moment of freedom—brief, imperfect and fleeting.
What Embry-Riddle’s students are building now goes far beyond that.
Through careful design, patient iteration and scientific rigor, they are turning moments into possibilities—and memories into lasting access.
Matt Gable remembers small moments with the boy who loved Batman and Family Feud.
“Matthew would be in the living room and want a drink,” he recalls, “so he would venture into the kitchen to get one. This little trip could result in his complexion taking on a blue tone due to the loss of oxygen. He would stop, catch his breath, and then go on playing like nothing was wrong.
“I think of this often—how Matthew faced challenges head-on, accepted the bad and enjoyed the good. If Matthew could overcome all he did when he had every excuse not to, then what is my excuse for not doing something more when I have nothing holding me back?”
One day, a child will ease away from their parents, hands steady on a wheel, choosing where to go.
Behind that moment stands a father who refused to let loss end a story, and students who learned that engineering is not only about systems and materials, but about dignity, choice and joy.
That is possibility—engineered.