Antonia Sinibaldi was celebrating her 29th birthday with friends and family at a New Jersey restaurant when a birthday dessert arrived with a message referencing the wheelchair she has used since childhood. Sinibaldi is now asking why the restaurant highlighted her disability during what should have been a birthday celebration. Sinibaldi celebrated her birthday on June 20, 2026, at Blu On The Hudson in Weehawken, according to CBS News New York. She told the station that she and her cousin ordered the same dessert. When the plates arrived, Sinibaldi found a message written on hers: “Happy Birthday Wheelchair!” “It took me by surprise,” she told CBS News. “I shouldn’t be reminded of something that I already know. Sinibaldi and her party asked restaurant management for an explanation. After reporting the message, Sinibaldi said a manager initially offered to send the group additional drinks, but did not explain why the message appeared on her plate. Sinibaldi later spoke publicly about the incident and said she wanted people to understand that her disability does not need to become a defining feature of every interaction. Woman "baffled" by hurtful birthday dessert message at N.J. restauranthttps://t.co/jRyyAyTS9hHer name is Antonia Sinibaldi. She sings. She's on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. — Cheribird Can Fly (@CheribirdCanFly) August 24, 2026 CBS News New York reported that Sinibaldi suffered a cervical spinal injury at age 2 after a car crash involving a drunk driver. She requires assistance with eating, drinking, and breathing and has used a ventilator. Sinibaldi has also written publicly about accessibility and life with a spinal cord injury. In a 2022 guest post for SPINALpedia, she described herself as a vent-dependent quadriplegic and discussed the challenges associated with a severe spinal cord injury. The restaurant explained. Blu On The Hudson later apologized and explained how the word “wheelchair” ended up on Sinibaldi’s dessert. In a statement provided to local media, the restaurant said employees normally use table and seat numbers on tickets to identify where dishes should go. The restaurant said staff used the word “wheelchair” to identify where they should deliver the birthday dessert. According to the restaurant, someone misunderstood that notation and wrote the word on the plate itself. “There was absolutely no malicious or disrespectful intent behind the notation,” Blu On The Hudson said in its statement, according to NBC New York. The restaurant also acknowledged that seeing the word on the plate could be “deeply hurtful and upsetting.” Blu On The Hudson said it reinforced its ticketing and communication procedures after the June 20 incident. The restaurant also said management tried to contact Sinibaldi directly to apologize but had not reached her when it issued the statement. Sinibaldi told CBS News New York that she does not plan to return to the restaurant. She said she hopes the incident serves as a lesson for people who interact with those who have disabilities. “Don’t bring up my disability,” she said. In another story related to accessibility, a disability rights advocate recently shared her experience booking a Disney World hotel in a wheelchair.