Crikey! AJ's going to Australia

Hi, my name is AJ. When I was 18 months old I was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular atrophy (SMA). SMA is a neuromuscular disease within the Muscular Dystrophy family and causes general muscle weakness, which is degenerative over the course of one’s life due to a lack of physical activity. Because of this, I have used a wheelchair for mobility since I was 4 years old. International travel has always been something that I have felt was unattainable to even consider as a possibility, however it is something I have always desired to experience. There are many hurdles to clear when trying to travel as a disabled person like myself, but the two largest obstacles are saving up the money to make it happen and finding people who are willing to go with me. While traveling is high on many people's bucket lists, traveling at all can be difficult for many wheelchair users due to rules and regulations regarding wheelchairs on planes, but also traveling with or renting medical equipment, and finding accessible transportation at the destination among others. Personally, the largest hindrance to travel is the financial guidelines and restrictions that are placed upon disabled persons receiving home caretaking services. Because I am unable to save enough money to travel abroad without losing my necessary caretaking services, I had generally just given up hope that I could make it happen, and it has been my lifelong dream to travel to Australia. Additionally, this is why the beneficiary is listed as my father Curtis Krieg. All trip expenses will be paid from an account under his name. Unfortunately, when I was a child, my family was not aware that Make-A-Wish was something that was an option as they were misled that SMA was not considered a terminal illness and therefore I would be ineligible. Now that I’m 34, I am well outside of the eligible age range. It has taken a very long time for me to come to terms that the only possibility of making this dream a reality is to ask for help. The other primary obstacle I mentioned was finding people who would be willing to go on this journey with me, this obstacle I have been able to resolve. Due to my SMA I have required assistance, whether it be from family or Personal Care Attendants (PCAs), to help me with nearly all activities of daily living for much of my life. While I have had many fantastic PCAs over the years, I am currently fortunate enough to have two of the most kind, caring, and generous ladies as not only PCAs but also good friends. I have talked of dreams and aspirations with caretakers over the years, but Grace and Maisie (pictured above) have encouraged me to actually pursue it. They have both been amazing in allowing me to live as active a lifestyle as possible and I cannot be more thankful to have crossed paths with them. Since this is such a big trip to prepare for, we do not have an exact date in mind. We have already begun our preparations by Grace and I taking a short trip to New Orleans this past August. Which happened to be my first time on a plane in nearly 25 years! Additionally, we have gotten our passports so that we will be ready if we can make this happen! We also plan to take another short trip next summer with all three of us as a trial run. Over the coming months, we plan to narrow down these trip plans and I will update those here as they come. I have set the goal of $15,000 to help cover all travel expenses not only to and from Australia but also within Australia as we would love to visit a few different cities over the course of two weeks. Any contribution you can make would be eternally appreciated. If we are lucky enough to surpass our goal it would be used for additional outings on this or any other trips in the future. Thank you so much for your time and consideration!