My mom has always been my hero. She’s one of those people who never complains, no matter how much life has tested her. When she was just 19 years old, she was a victim of domestic violence and was shot, leaving her paralyzed — but instead of letting it define her, she chose to fight. For decades, she’s lived life with incredible strength, independence, and positivity, defying every statistic stacked against her. Statistically, her life expectancy is around 60 years old, but she refuses to let numbers decide how much life she has left to live.

As she’s gotten older, though, things have become harder. Simple everyday things that most of us take for granted — like getting in and out of a car — have turned into painful, exhausting challenges. Every time she leaves the house, she has to take apart her wheelchair, lift it piece by piece into the car, then do it all over again when she gets home. Some days she’s so worn out that it takes hours just to build up the strength to get out of the car and put her chair back together.

A wheelchair-accessible vehicle would completely change her life. It would give her back the freedom to move independently — to visit her father in the nursing home, to run errands without fear of exhaustion, and to simply live life on her own terms again.

This past year has been especially hard. She recently lost her mother, who was her rock, and now she’s the primary caretaker for her dad, whose nursing home costs over $10,000 a month. The emotional and financial strain has been overwhelming, but she continues to show up every day for everyone else — even when she has nothing left to give.

My mom has spent her life taking care of others. Now, I want to help take care of her. This vehicle would mean comfort, safety, and dignity — and most importantly, it would give her back the independence that means everything to her.

Any donation, no matter the size, will bring us one step closer to giving her the freedom she’s fought so hard to keep. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping us make this possible.