Hi my name is Chanel. I am 27 years old. I was born with a physical disability called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, also known as Brittle Bones Disease. I have been a wheelchair user since the age of three and since then we have relied on various versions of wheelchair accessible vehicles. Like most people, we use my car to get to doctor's appointments, family events and work. My mom, who primarily uses the car (as this is our only vehicle) is a physical therapist for other children with disabilities in our neighboring town. Unfortunately some of these used vans are not meant for such daily use.

In March of 2025 my current wheelchair van's passenger door began to give us some trouble. Over the years our current van has undergone multiple repairs but none that we couldn't get fixed. Until May of 2025.

On Friday, May 16th, on a day that was supposed to be pretty exciting became a day of traveling to and from a graduation lunch with a door that would not close. Because the restaurant was so close, and it happened to be a lovely day we took the risk and traveled to the location til we could stop by the dealership to see if they could help us get the door closed. Luckily they were able to close the door, but the mechanism it closes with was completely rusted out and they said it could not be repaired. So now we have to begin the process of purchasing a new or used wheelchair accessible van.

I have been extremely fortunate to have a great support system that has been able to cover the cost of the vehicles as I was growing up. That being said, I am currently unemployed and want to use this page to help my family lessen the burden of paying for a brand new vehicle since we have only ever been able to afford used ones. Although I am without a job, I have always had a knack for crowd funding.

Without an accessible vehicle, the safest way I can travel in a toddler car seat but this limits me to travel without my power wheelchair. At 26 years old traveling in a car seat and being limited to a manual chair (for my disease, it does not give me the safest level of independence). This is the fix we will be working with temporarily, but it is not sustainable or safe for the long term.

Any donation big or small will make a difference. Thank you so much for your time.

As of right now I am not looking to buy a vehicle that I can drive myself but please enjoy this photo of me in my dream car that I sat in 10 years ago, and cannot forget.

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