FOLSOM, Calif. — Riley Baker's parents would say she got off to a rough start, but that isn't stopping her.
Riley was born early at just two pounds and five ounces. She spent weeks in the NICU, and caught meningitis twice in her first year of life, leading to a cerebral palsy diagnosis. Her condition led to five brain surgeries that year as well.
"It does nothing to stop her little personality so she's 4 and a half now and she's a rockstar," Riley's mother Cassondra Baker said. "Her laugh is just infectious. She has the best laugh, the best smile, it just makes your day."
Baker quit her job during the pandemic to provide Riley's constant care. She needs many therapies, trips around the country for treatment and medical devices. Keeping up with this care can be expensive. The community has already donated more than $18,000 to her care.
Baker even created a Facebook page called "The Wonder That is Riley." It has hundreds of followers all keeping up with Riley's story, while some families have similar stories.
"It's the strangest feeling when you go to some of these different treatments, and everyone's kind of going, 'Who's going now cause we're going to meet up' and we actually get to see each other in person. It's been such a great community to kind of lean on each other," Baker said.
That support goes across the globe, Australian singer-songwriter Nicole Ferreira heard about Riley's story and wanted to help. She wrote and released the song "Riley" after speaking with her mom over Facetime. Ferreira takes 0% of the earnings and Riley has the rights to the song. That means every dollar earned through streaming is hers.
"She's just an absolute love, is it hard that we know she'll never be able to do what the other kids do, it's terrifying. It is what it is, but she's the sweetest little thing that will teach other people what it is to be kind. She's just a little ball of love, she really is," Baker said.
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