Hi

My name is Mark O'Dell and this is my reason for starting a gofundme page.

Elijah was born with the most severe form of spina bifida, called myleomenegocele, this means that he has exceptional needs that require above and beyond the average amount of care needed, he is also a full time wheelchair user, due to his primary diagnosis he also has acquired hydrocephalus and chiari 2 malformation among other medical issues. In January of 2025 he was diagnosed with epilepsy which is uncontrolled with medication, he can have anywhere between 0 to 20 seizures in a day, it is so unpredictable so his mom had to quit working to be available for all emergencies and hospitalisations, such as his recent brain surgery to revise his VP shunt. In June, I myself was involved in a serious work related accident where I broke several bones and tore ligaments and muscles in my knee, lower leg and foot and have been unable to work or provide as much support as usual, during this time both cars broke down and this has left my family stranded with no transport for appointments, day to day life or emergencies as we live rurally with no public transport available. As a single income household with carers, financially we manage the day to day but when difficulties arise like my injury, Elis unpredictable health issues and then both cars breaking down literally within 2 weeks of each other, we need to reach out and ask for a little help, at this point we have tried every avenue for assistance and have been denied, so we are asking for help to raise enough funds to help us purchase 2 reliable second hand vehicles so we can get Eli and his older sister who is autistic safely to the many appointments and therapies they require as well as getting myself to work.

This is obviously not the route we would have liked to have had to go down, but it has simply become our only option now.

We ask you please to support our GoFund Me and help us raise enough money for 2 safe, reliable, second hand vehicles so Eli and his sister are able to get to where they need to be in order to get the help they need and i am able to travel to work. Thank you