Hello... I'm Anthony, Olivia's uncle. Olivia is a beautiful, inquisitive, and awesomely resilient 22 year old young woman with SMARD (Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Type 2). Spinal Muscular Atrophy is an illness that affects the motor neurons for activities such as speaking, walking, swallowing, and breathing. She has lived with SMARD since she was about 3 months old. She uses a wheelchair to get around, a ventilator to breathe, and an eye-gaze computer interface to communicate and "talk."

Olivia has been cared for at home, with up to 16 hours of in-home nursing care per day, for much of her life. However, because of her age and because of the current nursing shortage in Iowa where she lives, it has become difficult to care for Olivia at home. Resources in Iowa only provide in-home care for school-age ventilator-dependent people, even when the disability and medical complexity outlive the current guidelines/mandates.

Olivia is currently in a group home in Iowa where she is receiving care as a ventilator-dependent, medically-complex young adult. We are grateful for the care that she is getting...and we would like to prepare for the future. Olivia will "age out" of this home when she is 31--about eight years from now. Olivia's family (me included) would like to make sure that she has a place to be where she can be safe, cared for, and accommodated medically, socially, and emotionally. We would like to build a small group home for Olivia and others with needs similar to hers.

This GoFundMe is to secure the land purchase for a future home where four ventilator-dependent young adults, including Olivia, will have a place to live, survive, thrive, and have their medical and psychosocial needs met in a 4:1 ratio with 24/7 qualified nursing care. We are currently in conversation with corporate, foundation, and private philanthropies to cover the cost of the building of the house as well as sustainable operational funding.

Thank you very much for your support! We adore and love our dear Olivia, and we would like to make sure that she and others in Iowa like her who have special and medically-complex needs can access a nurturing, well-staffed, and supportive place to live.

With gratitude-

Anthony