She Helped Others...Let's Help Germaine!

My name is Germaine DeRouen and I live in Lafayette LA. I have been living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for six (6) years. Once a successful social worker and program director, I was forced to end my career due to its stressful impact on MS in my life. I now depend on a fixed income, compliments of my Social Security Disability. It is only a fraction of the cost of paying for services and out-of-pocket costs for medical services. While I am grateful for the benefit of SSD, there are considerable expenses of living with MS every day.

I have to incur out-of-pocket costs of medications and multiple doctor's visits. While I have health insurance from my former job, the premium cost tripled when I stopped working. I live out each day in a wheelchair because of MS. This requires me to hire healthcare attendants who can help me with daily tasks at an out-of-pocket cost of $1200 per month. The other daily challenge is navigating movement around my home, which was not built to accommodate someone with my physical challenges.

Before MS, one of my daily joys was taking a 2-3 hour bath in my soaking tub while reading a good book. I can no longer enjoy those baths because I cannot afford the renovation. It has been a humbling experience.

I have adapted as best I can under these circumstances. Bright spots are that I have tripled the number of books I read daily and have a closer relationship with God.

I could have never imagined myself, at 53, living in a wheelchair and largely confined to my home. Traveling outside the house is challenging as you must depend on local transportation services with specialized vans.

I would not have survived this long without the love and support of friends and family.

As a believer in Christ and a social worker, I still have much to contribute to this world. Getting to appointments and other support services with ease, and joining family and friends, would be a way for me to restore some normalcy to my life.

I want to purchase a van specifically designed for persons living in wheelchairs. In addition to using the van to get to medical appointments I will use it to volunteer my time and talents as a licensed social worker helping people in the community who need resources and services. Please support me by donating whatever you can to this GoFundMe.