Help Macaylee Gain Mobility and Independence

Let me introduce you to my beautiful niece, Macaylee Randol. She recently turned 16, but she may never get the opportunity to drive a car. My niece was born with spina bifida, hydrocehalus, neurogenic bladder & bowel, and Chiari malformation. She’s had many surgeries on her back, her legs, and on her head to receive a shunt. In the beginning years of her precious little life, she could barely get around in her leg braces as she moved along the furniture. As Macaylee grew older, she could no longer stand with her braces; she crawls from room to room. Even though she is basically wheelchair-bound, her home was never made accessible for her. My sister, Leanna, has been a loving mother to her 3 children, a stay-at-home mom, a home-school teacher, and a caregiver to Macaylee for the past 16 years. You see, Macaylee requires constant supervision and catheters every 3 or 4 hours. Macaylee never asks for anything and she never complains. She spends all of her time in her room playing video games and hasn’t even discovered that there are modifications and accessibility technologies out there invented to help children just like her. I wish you could meet her! She is down-to-earth, introverted, funny, loud, and extremely caring. However, she also suffers from depression due to her physical constraints… which has been further intensified now that her mom, and only caregiver she’s ever known, has been diagnosed with a type of non-curable leukemia. Due to my sister’s fatigue and weakness, it has become difficult for Leanna to lift Macaylee’s wheelchair into the back of their SUV, or even help her get over the top of the bathtub rail. This young lady deserves to experience a more dignified life. However, since her father earns more than the allowable annual income, Macaylee doesn’t qualify for many of the disability assistance programs that Missouri has to offer. And, for those she does, there is a very long waiting list. Therefore, I’m asking each person who reads this mini bio to donate whatever you can to help this sweet girl. A small amount from each person can really add up. They desperately need an accessible van (a new one can cost $70,000 or more with modifications), so the family has opted for a wheelchair lifter instead. A motorized lift gets secured to the back of their SUV for her chair and will cost $3,600 installed. Macaylee could also use a hoyer lift and some basic home modifications for door frames, as well as an accessible bathroom (costing another $15-20,000). She also needs a concrete transfer pad for her wheelchair at their front door area. The bid to rework the front yard so Macaylee has access to a front door ramp was estimated at just under $6,000. We’re not asking for the whole amount required to accomplish all of these updates, we just need a bit of help. I believe our goal to raise $20,000 will cover the essential items and that will make a huge difference for Macaylee’s well-being.

Thank you for reading this plea for assistance. Anything you can do is much appreciated, even if it’s just passing along this GoFundMe link to your friends and family so they can help spread the word.