SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Savannah mother says her daughter was denied service at a nail salon due to her cerebral palsy, but a nail technician’s kindness helped her start the New Year with a professional manicure at home.
NyKiah Connelly’s story gained attention when her mother shared a TikTok video detailing what happened.
“Just because a person is in a wheelchair or a person doesn’t look like you, don’t assume that they can’t get the same service that everyone else does,” mother Paula Connelly said.
Paula Connelly said she had offered to help accommodate US Nails to fulfill her daughter’s wish for a professional manicure.
“My thing was, I don’t care if the nails mess up. All we want is the experience, what my daughter wanted. And she wanted her nails done for New Year’s, professionally,” Paula Connelly said.
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After seeing the TikTok video, Monica Green, the owner of Relentless Nails, reached out to the Connelly family.
Green said she was shocked to learn that service could be denied based on a disability.
“I didn’t know you could get service denied for having a disability. Like, I didn’t know that, so it was shocking to me,” Green said.
That’s when she arranged to visit the Connelly household to provide the manicure and shared that NyKiah was thrilled during the experience.
“She was smiling the whole time, and she kept saying that she liked it and it was pretty,” Green recalled.
Paula noted that the support they received has been overwhelming, with other nail technicians also reaching out to help.
“It makes me and my daughter feel happy. I mean, we’ve had a lot of nail techs that have reached out to us, willing and able to come over to the house,” Paula Connelly said.
In addition to the manicure, NyKiah also had her hair professionally done on New Year’s Day, and her experience has drawn positive community support.
The co-owner of US Nails said they declined service to NyKiah over concerns about the difficulties of managing her hands under the salon’s UV lamp. ,
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