Lombard Teen Enters Mobility Contest for the Fourth Time

For the fourth year, Courtney Kestner has entered the National Mobility Awareness Contest.

“This contest comes up every year in May,” her mother Deborah Dobbs said. “May is mobility awareness month.

“They are giving away four handicapped accessible vans to the person that gets the most votes…then we go into final round and a judge determines the four most needy.”

Kestner is an 18-year-old senior at Glenbard East High School.

Like most teenagers, she loves hanging out with her friends.

“Courtney is a very fun, outgoing person, she is very likable,” her mom said. “She seems to have a lot of peers at school, they have a buddy program, everybody seems to like her.

“They say she is the best dressed.”

Kestner, though, does not speak and uses a wheelchair to get around.

“She has scoliosis and CP and is wheelchair bound,” Dobbs said.

And while she is small for her age - about 70 pounds, the only way to transport Kestner is to lift her in and out of a vehicle Dobbs said.

“She’s getting bigger and older and heavier,” Dobbs said. “We, as a family, have never been on a vacation, maybe we can take her on vacation.”

Dobbs is a divorced mom of two. Her son, Kestner’s older sibling is 35 and he was also born with CP and he’s autistic.

“He doesn’t live at home, he lives in a home,” Dobbs said. “I am a single mom, but Courtney’s Godfather has been with me for 13 years. “We just got engaged, we would like to get married.”

But the health of the two adults who are caregivers for Kestner is compromised too. Her mom has a hernia, in part from trying to lift Kestner. And Kestner’s godfather is on kidney dialysis and needs a kidney transplant.

Dobb said Courney loves to dance and loves clothes.

“She likes to eat, she likes food and she is skinny as a rail,” Dobbs said.

Although she does not speak on a regular basis, she does communicate.

“She does do some slang, like she’ll answer you yes and no,” Dobbs said. “She does say mom every now and then.

“She’s gonna live at home with us as long as we can have her.”

When she’s at home, she likes to help her mom with flower design. Her mom is a floral designer by trade although she never had the ability to go into business for herself.

Community members can vote once a day every day from May 1 to May 31.