Help Lady Gain Freedom with a Wheelchair Accessible Van

Hi all! I have set up this fundraiser in hopes of helping my sister, Lady, get a reliable wheelchair accessible van so I can play a bigger role in her care, regarding her needs and wants.

Unfortunately, Lady currently has an older, rather large, Chevy Express that can transport her and a maximum of two others in the front seats (unsafe for small children). This van has been able to make many trips but does have repeated mechanical issues with the van itself, and the lift. In addition, due to the lack of seating in the vehicle, I have been limited in my ability to help as I have children with me and have nobody to care for them while assisting her, making it impossible to provide any transportation for her without relying on others which is not feasible. Lady's main caregiver is our father, and in addition to that, he is employed full time in a labor extensive job - and requesting additional things from him is tiresome and overwhelming for him as well.

Anybody who has had the pleasure of meeting Lady knows what an incredible woman she is and how huge her heart is. She is incredibly deserving and deserves to have a better quality of life.

Right now, she is limited on any outings or trips, and I want nothing more than to be able to provide her with more freedom than she has been able to have.

For those who don’t know, my sister was born with Muscular Dystrophy. In 2001, she ended up in a medically induced coma where she got her tracheotomy. In 2006, she ended up on her vent 24/7. The list goes on. It is a miracle she just celebrated her 34th birthday as we have been repeatedly told to prepare ourselves for the worse, and as a family we were told she wouldn’t live to see 15. She has beat many odds and every day, every birthday is a huge blessing.

We talk about many things and discuss how awesome it would be to even be able to go thrifting together, or even go watch the kids' sports without all of the obstacles currently in place. The simple things that she unfortunately does not get to participate in.

Lady has overcome many obstacles in life and has beat the odds stacked against her and things should not be this hard. Being able to get a reliable wheelchair van would be life-changing and it would give her the ability for her to go out more, spend more time with her nieces and nephews whom she adores, and not continue to live her life stuck in her small home. Lady has been my rock throughout my life, and I want nothing more than to take away the obstacles in her life to improve her quality of living for as long as possible.

Any small donation would help get us one step closer to making this a reality for her.

LOGISTICS:

I have been closely looking at wheelchair accessible vans throughout the west coast area and have seen a trend of vans ranging from $15k-$25k. The vans I have come across come fully equipped and ready with a ramp set up, are AWD for our winter weather, and range in the 80-140k miles. I have set the goal to $25k as I am hopeful, we would find something suitable within that range for her. In the event we are able to find something even more affordable, any leftover funds would go directly back into Lady's care. Unfortunately, she does not qualify for any benefits and some medical supplies are out of pocket expenses.