My name is Noha, and for the past three years, I have been my father Hossam’s full-time caregiver.

Before all of this, my dad was independent, active, and full of life. He loved being with our family, and some of his happiest moments were spent at the beach. Watching the person who once did everything for himself slowly lose his independence has been one of the hardest things our family has ever experienced.

The last few years have been filled with hospital stays, uncertainty, fear, and more questions than answers. My dad survived a cardiac arrest, went through multiple misdiagnoses, and became progressively weaker while we desperately searched for an explanation. There were moments when we truly did not know what the future would look like.

Eventually, he was diagnosed with Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS), a rare autoimmune disease that causes severe muscle weakness.

Today, my dad is completely dependent on others for his care. He cannot eat on his own; everything he receives is through a feeding tube. He can still talk, but only very little because he simply does not have the strength. As his daughter, it is heartbreaking to watch someone you love struggle to do things most of us never have to think twice about.

But after everything he has been through, my dad is still fighting.

Since finally receiving the proper treatment, we have started to see something we had been waiting so long for: progress. He has begun regaining strength and is even moving his legs again. Those small movements may seem insignificant to someone else, but to our family, they mean everything. They remind us that there is still hope.

Now, he needs the opportunity to build on that progress.

After being bedbound for so long, consistent physical therapy is essential for him to regain as much strength and independence as possible. Unfortunately, one of the biggest things standing in his way is something as simple as transportation.

His insurance has limited the amount of physical therapy he can receive at home, which means he needs to travel to outpatient therapy and medical appointments. Because he is bedbound and requires a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, getting him there is incredibly difficult. Renting an accessible van every time he needs therapy is simply not financially sustainable.

It is devastating knowing that my dad has finally reached a point where treatment is helping him, only to have transportation become the reason he cannot consistently access the therapy he desperately needs.

That is why we are asking for help.

The goal of this fundraiser is to help our family purchase a wheelchair-accessible van for my dad. This would allow us to take him to physical therapy and medical appointments consistently without having to worry about whether we can afford transportation each time.

But this van would mean so much more than medical appointments.

It would mean giving my dad the chance to leave the house again. To see family. To feel the sun and fresh air. And hopefully, one day, to return to the beach he loved so much.

After years of hospitals, illness, and being confined to a bed, something as simple as going outside with his family would give him a piece of his life back.

I have spent the last three years beside my dad, caring for him and watching him fight through things no person should have to endure. I just want to give him every possible chance to keep getting stronger and to experience life outside of his illness again.

If you are able to donate, no amount is too small. If you cannot donate, sharing our story would mean just as much to us. Every donation, every share, every prayer, and every kind word brings my dad one step closer to continuing his recovery and regaining some of the independence he has lost.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping my dad keep fighting.

— Noha