PLEASE HELP US REACH OUR GOAL OF $20,000 BY DONATING OR SHARING OUR GOFUNDME ❤️

We are Rey & Jessika Maiz, also known as It's That Wheel Kind of Love. We openly share our lives and lived experiences with the world to create awareness and break stereotypes. Currently, we are seeking to buy a wheelchair accessible van. It is not easy at all to ask for help for ourselves as we are very independent individuals. With that being said, we both drive 2 door vehicles, break down our chairs every time we transfer into the vehicle and put them back together when we transfer out of the vehicle. Doing this for 16 and 13 years, respectively, has lead us to both sustain shoulder wear and tear on our bodies. We wish to live long, successful, independent lives but we are starting to notice the effects on our bodies. A wheelchair accessible van would help us in so many ways. We are in a very unique situation where both of us are paralyzed and are full time wheelchair users. Not every vehicle is made for us, however, we have learned to adapt in the past. Now, we have to evolve in a world that was not created for us. We are going to trade-in Jessika's current vehicle. That is still not enough financially to afford a very custom wheelchair accessible van. We humbly ask for any assistance you can provide so that we can get used to our new normal with the opportunities a wheelchair accessible van can provide. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you know us personally, please share our story and how we may have impacted your lives. If you don't know us, it's nice to meet you and would love the chance to get to know you.

On February 12, 2009, Rey was in a motorcycle accident where he was driven off the road by a Hit and Run driver. The driver was never caught. Rey flew off his motorcycle into a picket fence and the motorcycle landed on top of him. He died 3 times that day. Once on scene, once being airlifted and once in the trauma center. It's a miracle he is still alive today. He suffered many injuries including a spinal cord injury at T6-T7 causing his paralysis, both lungs collapsed, broken ribs, shoulder and clavicle. After being put in an induced coma for several weeks, he woke up and asked the Doctor, "When can I begin therapy?" The Doctor said, "You realize I just told you that you will never walk again, right?" That's Rey for you, always ready to adapt to his new normal. Rey used to be a Firefighter/Paramedic for the Broward Sheriff's Office assigned to the Airport District before his injury. Always willing to help out, he began a career in Medical Bill & Coding, making sure patients understand their benefits.

Jessika had a benign lipoma tumor compressed against her spine. She had a 1st surgery at the age of 14 to remove 75% of the large tumor. She fully recovered and never thought about the tumor again. At the age of 26 on December 14, 2012, Jessika was leaving work from her career as a Crime Analyst for the Broward Sheriff's Office assigned to the Airport District when she got in her car and her brain was telling her she was hitting the brakes but the actual motion was not occurring. She was 1 minute away from entering a major highway to travel home. She pulled over with the emergency brake and was immediately taken to the Emergency Room. This time, she knew exactly what it was. The tumor had fully grown back again and the messages from her brain to the rest of her body were not being transmitted. An MRI would reveal that the tumor had fully grown back again and Emergency surgery was necessary as the tumor began to do more damage to her body. Doctors were able to remove 45% of the tumor, but this time with damage to her spinal cord from T2-T9. She went into surgery able bodied and came out of surgery paralyzed. She made a miraculous recovery where she was able to walk again for 6 months with intense physical therapy. The days went on and the walking became more difficult and another MRI would reveal the tumor had fully grown back for a 3rd time. This time there was nothing else left to do but get used to her new normal.

It's funny how life works sometimes, Rey and Jessika both worked for the Broward Sheriff's Office in the same district at the same time. Rey on the Fire Department side and Jessika on the Law Enforcement side. They never crossed each other's paths. Fast forward to 2015, they were both paralyzed and Rey became Jessika's Peer Mentor. Love quickly took over and they have lived active, philanthropic and blessed lives together ever since.

We want to continue our mission to change the world together, create awareness and break stereotypes. This wheelchair accessible van will open a world of opportunities for us we haven't yet reached. We are so grateful to our community that is helping along this way on our journey together.

God bless,

Rey & Jess