About 9 years ago our son, Zachary, became disabled. He went from an energetic 19 year old working and attending community college to an adult with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Ehler’s Danlos (EDS), and several other smaller health issues that have left him dependent on using a wheelchair to get around. It has been a long and costly road.

For decades I have been actively involved in doing community-based work, most recently with the non-profit Creating Communities of Maryland Hall and as a special needs teacher with the counties’ school system. Zachary’s sudden condition has been very difficult on our entire family, but in some ways it has inspired me even more as I serve others.

Many of my students are neurodivergent, have life-threatening health issues, and are wheelchair bound. While working with those with special needs in my career and at home has been extremely taxing and an emotional rollercoaster, seeing the little progresses reminds me of why I do it.

We have been working with Accessible Resources for Independence. They have made many recommendations for agencies that have no funding and/or a 2-3 year waitlist. One area that we felt would be a good start towards independence is getting an SUV and a wheelchair lift. He is able to stand for short periods of time allowing him to hook up his wheelchair, load it, and get into the vehicle. He traded in his vehicle and is willing to spend almost half of his monthly income from disabilities toward leasing an SUV. But he could not afford to purchase it when the lease ends, nor can he afford to purchase a $5000+ lift.

As a disabled individual, Zachary is not allowed by the Social Security Administration to have more than $2000 in his bank account or he will lose his monthly funding, which will prevent him from living independently. We are trying to help him with these big expenses as best we can. Any donations will go toward the purchase of a lift for his SUV with remaining funds going toward research for POTS.