Help Tina Get a Van

I am doing this Fundraiser in order to help my daughter, Tina, & her husband, Jeff, get a new van! The following is a note from Tina to help you get to know her, her husband, & the reason for the need for this Fundraiser -

"My name is Tina Cardew & I am 35 years old. I live in Conklin, N.Y with my husband, Jeffery Cardew, & our beloved pets. When I am able to, I help rescue & rehome cats that have been thrown out & forgotten. This brings me so much joy & happiness. I was born with a genetic condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy, also known as S.M.A. S.M.A is a Neuromuscular Disorder that causes a slow deterioration of all of the muscles in the body. However, it does not affect the brain. When I was born, parents were often told that their children would not live long so they should "just take them home & love them while you can." I was then given the life-expectancy of only 13 years old. Thankfully, due to research & some amazing advances in the medical field, people with my condition are living much longer. I have two older brothers, one of which also had S.M.A.

In 2020, my brother, that shared the same condition as I, tragically passed away suddenly. In an instant, my heart was absolutely shattered & my whole world turned upside down. It was extremely hard trying to get use to living life without my best friend. He was the only person in my daily life that actually understood my daily struggles- the person who was by my side, experiencing similar things, since the very beginning. I miss him so very much daily & still struggle accepting that he is really gone to this day. Little did I know at the time, as devastating as losing my brother was, it would be just the beginning of terrible things that were yet to happen.

My husband use to work as my brother's Home Healthcare Aide. This worked out perfectly for us because it allowed for me to be able to go to work with him when I could not get Aide coverage for myself. It also allowed my husband the ability to take time off of work, without the fear of losing his job, when I was sick & needed him at home to care for me. Unfortunately, with the loss of my brother, also came Unemployment for my husband. Luckily, my husband was able to receive Unemployment Benefits for the following few months.

Also in 2020, we were able to purchase a used van with the help of some friends & family members. The van met our needs at the time & worked great for us for a couple of years. Overtime, it broke down more & more. Despite us repairing each new issue, it continued breaking down. Each repair started getting more & more expensive but, we continued to fix what we could & babied it, trying to get it to last for us as long as possible.

Almost exactly one year later, my life would be changed forever yet again. In 2021, I woke up in our local hospital's I.C.U with a tube down both my throat & nose. I was absolutely shocked that I woke up Intubated with a N.G Tube placed. It took me a couple of minutes to even realize that I was not dreaming & that this was all really happening. To my surprise, it had apparently already been a couple of days since being Intubated. Shortly after waking up, I was Extubated. Unfortunately, the Extubation did not last very long because I ended up Coding just a few short hours later. I was immediately Intubated again. I then spent a little over a month Intubated with a N.G Tube placed, fully awake & completely unsedated, fighting for my life & my right to see a doctor in New Jersey who actually specializes in my condition. After an immense amount of stress, tears, & hard work, I was finally able to get Life Flighted to the hospital in New Jersey with the doctor who specializes in my condition. Thankfully, with the proper doctors & equipment, I was able to be Extubated & was truly on the mend within just 24 hours of admittance at the new hospital. Just about a week later, I was sent home with some new equipment & a new lease on life.

My new "norm" now includes two amazing machines that help me survive in my "new" life. Unfortunately, being in a hospital bed for over a month really took a toll on my body overall. One of the changes that has had the biggest impact on my life was losing the ability to be Cradle Lifted by my husband. It has become far too painful in my back, hips, & knees to do this. This has affected so many aspects of my life- from getting into my Power Chair & any bed, to no longer being able to be transferred into a regular seat in a vehicle. Because of this, I can only travel in vehicles that allow me the ability to stay in my specialized Power Chair. Whereas before, I could practically use just about any vehicle because I could fairly easily just be Cradle Lifted into the vehicle's seat & my Power Chair loaded into the back of the vehicle or placed on a trailer. To do that now would be excruciating. While my new "norm" has been a little difficult to get use to, I have tried to take it head on gratefully. I thought that things were as bad as they could get at this point but, I had no idea what was still to come.

Shortly after coming home from the hospital, my husband became ineligible for Unemployment Benefits due to being unemployed for too long. Unfortunately, he has been unable to seek new employment because of me. My new medical needs make finding trustworthy & reliable staff to be my Aide nearly impossible. Also, some of the medical tasks that I require assistance with, my staff, by law (according to the company that pays them,) are not allowed to assist me with. This makes staying alone with them for an extended period of time potentially very dangerous for me. Since my husband lost his Unemployment Benefits, we have been doing our best to get by on my Social Security Benefits. When my grandma found out about this, she happily helped us when she could & my husband helped her out around her home & with her care when he was able to in return. We were very appreciative of her help & we greatly enjoyed getting to spend the extra time with her.

Almost exactly one year after being hospitalized, I received devastating news that would again change my life forever. In the beginning of 2022, my grandma was diagnosis with Stage 4 Metastatic Liver Cancer & was given just a few months to live. I was rather close to my grandma throughout my entire life as she was always one of my biggest supporters. My husband & I spent as much time with my grandma as we possibly could during her last few months. Just under two months after her 90th Birthday, my grandma lost her battle with Cancer & passed away peacefully at home. Cancer turned my grandma into just a mere shell of the amazing, sweet, spunky, generous, & loving lady that she once was. Watching this terrible disease ravage my grandma's body so quickly was absolutely one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do in my entire life. It absolutely changed me forever. However, I am still very glad that I was able to at least be there, by her side, to support her during her last days here with us. I love my grandma so very much & miss her deeply every day.

While the loss of my beloved grandma caused severe heartbreak, it also came with some financial hardship. Since we are no longer getting the help that she was able to provide, we are now doing the best that we can to get by on just my Social Security Benefits. Because of this, we usually have little to no money left over for much extra.

Recently, we noticed that our van was not steering correctly. We initially thought that it just needed new tires, an Alignment, or possibly some other easy fix. I decided to have my dad come check it out & what he found was much worse & not repairable. Unfortunately, the whole front part of the frame that holds the front tires together & onto the van was rusted almost completely in half. Essentially, the whole front end of our van was collapsing. That made it completely unsafe to drive, especially with the weight of my extremely heavy Power Chair in it. Now, we have absolutely no vehicle & I have no way to get around or go anywhere besides to Doctor's appointments via Medicaid Transportation. Unfortunately, Medicaid Transportation only allows you to go to things that are required medically. Due to our financial situation, we have no way to purchase another van at this time nor even in the near future.

I am hoping that you can help us get a new or even used van. A van does not necessarily need to already be fully wheelchair accessible. Our last van was just a simple Cargo type van that my dad & husband modified to work for us. We would be extremely eternally grateful for any help that you can provide us with being able to get a new or used van. Finally, I want to thank you so very much for taking time out of your day to read this, it truly means a lot to me."