Help Shiloh's Family Get a Reliable Vehicle

My name is Dominique. I am a wife, a mama to 6 littles, owner of the indie bookstore Paperbacks and Frybread Co, and a member of the Lumbee tribe.

This little blue-eyed guy is Shiloh. He's 7 years old. He loves to watch Bluey, play Minecraft, and eat at Waffle House. He was also diagnosed with epilepsy in 2023.

It's been quite a journey, as he started having seizures at 18 months old. We have two other children who also had childhood seizures (thought to be simply febrile at the time), but his continued past the age for normal febrile seizures.

After multiple complex febrile seizures and ones not linked to fever, he was officially diagnosed and has been on meds ever since.

However, today he had a pretty bad breakthrough. His team isn't concerned about his health, but as parents, we are in a bind.

You see, we only have one vehicle. Having a large family naturally means some sacrifices. And since we homeschool and I work from home full-time, forgoing a car hasn't been an issue—until now.

My husband works 12/hr swing an hour away and we have no one to help. No family or friends we can call if he needs to get to the hospital. And now, that one car needs BOTH catalytic converters replaced. But as you can see—how does one work on a car when we can't take it in? No one to drive us there and no one to help my husband back and forth to work. We have been driving the car knowing it needs work—but it's at the point that it's going to break down before we can find an alternative.

We don't live in an area with ride share or anything like that as an option. Our town doesn't even have a stoplight and the hospital he has to be seen at is over an hour away. The local one doesn't have the capacity for neurological problems.

So here I am doing something I never wanted to do: asking for help. I have put my shop on sale to earn extra for a vehicle that we need as soon as possible, but even with the outpouring of love from sales, I don't make much profit off books. Plus, I have had people out of the country asking for ways to help.

We are not looking to get a fancy car. It would be amazing to find something affordable that would fit all 8 of us, but honestly, a car to get my husband to and from work is the main goal.

I know the world is burning now, but even $1 will absolutely help.

If you have made it this far: thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.