Help Jesseca Get Medical Care

I am a full-time power wheelchair user and solely rely on public transportation. I love most parts of living in Grande Prairie, but there is one major problem with living here: it is about 450km from Edmonton, where half of my doctors provide my care.

I do not and never have had a wheelchair accessible vehicle, my family and I cannot afford one. After Greyhound left Alberta, Red Arrow took over their Edmonton to Grande Prairie route. This was a great option that rarely caused any problems, but at the beginning of the pandemic, Red Arrow stopped this route. I thought this was due to the pandemic, but then it simply did not come back. I emailed them to ask about this, to which they replied that they had no plans to bring it back in the future. This left me in my city, unable to go anywhere else.

I have looked into other ways to get to Edmonton. Cold Shot is another bus that has a route between here and Edmonton, but they do not have wheelchair accessible buses. I have also contacted multiple rental car companies, none of which provide vehicles with ramps or lifts. I contacted APL about their non-emergent medical transport and while they would be able to do the trip, the cost is too prohibitive, especially as a long-term option (I was quoted $1250 roundtrip). Flying to Edmonton is difficult with a wheelchair; West Jet has a weight limit of 300lbs for wheelchairs, which mine exceeds, and all airlines have a massive problem with breaking wheelchairs. Luckily, I have only had this issue once, but with as often as I need to go to Edmonton I can’t afford to risk possibly having to fix or replace my wheelchair each time I have a doctor’s appointment. Angel Flight Alberta is unable to take me to Edmonton as I am unable to transfer into a plane unaided and their planes are too small to accommodate my wheelchair.

Luckily, my doctors in Edmonton switched all my appointments to over the phone or telehealth throughout the pandemic, but this is now changing. I have been repeatedly pushing appointments back months at a time (most recently to October) because I cannot get there in person, and these doctors are either unable or unwilling to provide my care another way.

I have contacted everyone I can think of to find alternative options to get to Edmonton, such as AISH and Muscular Dystrophy Canada. MD Canada is willing to make an exception for me to be able to apply for their Equipment Program, but the maximum amount for this program is only $3,000, which is unfortunately nowhere near enough for an accessible vehicle.

Due to the issues with this and the fact that I do not really have any other viable options, I am in need of an accessible vehicle. My goal is to get a down payment large enough that I will be able to afford the vehicle payments, insurance, and gas, as well as my other monthly expenses on AISH (government disability payments). The financing company I will be working with specifically works with accessible vehicles. There are two dealerships that they work with out here; one in Calgary and one in B.C., which have used vehicles anywhere from $35,000 to $75,000.

As a down payment, I would like to be able to put down $30,000. If I used my school savings, I could put $2,500 into this, combined with the MD Canada funds of $3,000. I need $24,500. If you can donate, you can do so here, anything you can give helps. If you do not have extra money but would still like to help, please boost this post.