Bellas Freedom Wheels

       This gofundme is for a wheelchair accessible Van. We are in desperate need of a wheelchair accessible Van so that way we can enjoy the time that we have left with Bella. Here is what is going on at the moment with Bella.

      As everyone who has followed Bellas Journey to get her Service Dog, Super Dog Zodiac, you know Bella has LGS a rare and aggressive form of Epilepsy, Autism, 3 heart problems, EDS, Essential Tremors, Demintia, Labled Failure to thrive, hearing loss, Treacher Collins Syndrome, a Feeding tube, and Vision Loss. We've had to add one more thing to her never-ending list of health problems, Brain atrophy — or cerebral atrophy.

     We found out in November of 2019 the Bella's brain is dying, at that time about 20% of her brain was dead, we had an MRI done in 2021 and they said that about 30% of it is now dead and has lesions on it as well from her seizures. Bellas doctors have said that Bella's brain will not stop dying, and they don't know why its dying and therefore they can't stop it from happening, and we were told that we need to focus on quality life. We found out this news a month after we got Zodiac, and thank goodness because mom and I needed a little love from Zodiac and sometimes we still do. To be completely honest we've been told to just make as many memories as we can with her. They don't have a time line for us so we are just doing as much as we can with her and hoping we have her for as long as possible.

      The seizures have gotten so bad, here's one for example-

    We almost lost her about 8 1/2  months ago to SUDEP (Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy Prognosis). She was eating a donut and started having a seizure and, thankfully, Zodiac alerted and we came in and she was blue. We had to dig out the donut blocking her airway and give her CPR so she would start breathing. These last 3 years honestly have been the worst years for our family and to be honest we feel so isolated because we don't want to feel like a burden to others, and we don't want people to think all we do is complain.

    Bella has a wheelchair because she can't walk too far because of a few of her disabilities, mostly because of her type of Epilepsy, and the balance issues she is having from the brain damage. She's having to rely on using her wheelchair more when she goes, if ever, out in public and utilizes Zodiac to help herself get up off the floor and to pick things up so she doesn't bend over and fall over. Unfortunately because Bella has had to use her wheelchair and doesn't get out of the car, unless its a very short distance, without using her wheelchair.  Even when we're in the car she doesn't have the core strength to sit up, and when she's having a seizure she she slumps over and sometimes even gets burns from the seatbelt itself. So even when she stays in the car it's still a little dangerous for her to sit in the regular seat.

     Bella has a wheelchair because she can't walk too far because of a few of her disabilities, mostly because of her type of Epilepsy, and the balance issues she is having from the brain damage. She's having to rely on using her wheelchair more when she goes, if ever, out in public and utilizes Zodiac to help herself get up off the floor and to pick things up so she doesn't bend over and fall over.          Unfortunately Bella has had to use her wheelchair and doesn't get out of the car, unless its a very short distance, without using her wheelchair. Even when we're in the car she doesn't have the core strength to sit up, and when she's having a seizure she she slumps over and sometimes even gets burns from the seatbelt itself. So even when she stays in the car it's still a little dangerous for her to sit in the regular seat. Her wheel chair has a 5 point harness restraint and is padded to help keep her safe during a seizure. It also tilts back to put less pressure on her joints.

     I'm hoping by putting what we are going through and what we desperately need on here we will be able to help Bella enjoy the time that she has while we have her. We want her to live her life to the fullest and we want her to be able to enjoy that time without having to just see life through the car window.