Mary Alice Tryda, 8, has spent a lot of time in the hospital. She was born with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare, incurable genetic condition that involves multiple disorders affecting one's connective tissues. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, those living with Ehlers-Danlos experience joint, skin, and muscle abnormalities that can cause chronic pain.
"The syndrome has taken her out of all the sports she loves," Mary Alice's mother, Kelly Tryda, told People in a recent interview. "She was an amazing gymnast. She played basketball, she was a cheerleader, and she can’t do any of that right now."
Mary Alice also suffers from brittle cornea syndrome, a related connective tissue disorder that can cause the second-grader's retina to randomly rupture, per the National Library of Medicine.
The Trydas relocated from Ohio to Massachusetts last year to be closer to a specialist at the Boston Children’s Hospital. One day last August, Kelly took to social media to see if anyone had tips on how to make the monthly 30-mile drive from their Bridgewater home to the hospital bearable for her and her daughter: "I had posted on the Bridgewater board on Facebook just looking for information … because we were new to the area," she told Fox 25.
Kelly got far more than just some helpful tips from Steve Hipolito, owner of Silver City Limousine, who responded to Kelly's post with an offer to drive the family to and from the hospital—for free.
It took some convincing—the selfless offer just seemed too generous at first— but Steve has since driven the family in style to their appointments six times (complete with complimentary sparkling grape juice for his VIP passenger).
Kelly is and was floored by the generosity of a total stranger: “It’s amazing there are people like him [Steve] out there who do this and want nothing in return. Not a thing,” she told People.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to me. He’s just happy to get his time with Mary Alice and hang out with her, and he has such a genuine heart.”
Talk about having the drive to make a difference.
