A message to Jett Foundation from Kristina Pham, mother of Simon and Steven Dinh, who’s family received an accessible vehicle after participating in Jett Foundation’s Accessible Vehicle Fund branch of the Jett Giving Fund in 2024.
“A Life Beyond Luck:
Some people say life is about luck. But if that were true, I wouldn’t know how to explain my boys—two beautiful, loving children born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
From the moment I heard the diagnosis, my world cracked. The future I had imagined for them, full of running, jumping, and playing without limits, slipped away. Instead, I was handed a reality filled with doctor visits, mobility challenges, and a ticking clock I wish I could stop.
There were days when the weight of it all felt unbearable. Watching their little hands struggle to hold a toy they once gripped so easily, seeing their legs weaken over time—it felt cruel, unfair. I wondered, why them? Why us? Was life really just a matter of bad luck?
But then, something remarkable happened.
In the midst of our struggles, we found kindness. Strangers who became friends, friends who became family. People with hearts so big they saw our pain and chose to help, not because they had to, but because they wanted to.
One day, an organization reached out—Jett Foundation. They weren’t just offering support; they were offering freedom. An accessible van, something I could only dream of, suddenly became real. It meant my boys could go to school, to the park, to doctor appointments without struggle. It meant fewer worries about how to transport their wheelchairs, fewer tears over feeling different. It meant dignity, independence, and hope.
That day, I realized life isn’t about luck. It’s about people. About love. About those who refuse to look away from someone else’s pain and instead, extend a hand to lift them up.
So yes, life with Duchenne is hard. Some days, it breaks me. But in those moments of sadness, I remember that we are not alone. That somewhere out there, people with hearts full of kindness are making the impossible possible.
And that is more powerful than luck could ever be.”
To learn more about Jett Foundation’s Jett Giving Fund, please click here.
