My name is Gabrielle Rose Gifford. While being a mother to a beautiful 8-year-old girl, I have enjoyed every second of my life with her in it. As a daughter, it breaks me to see how life has worn both of my parents down in unimaginable ways. I grew up watching both of them so full of joy, laughter, light, and love. In 2014 my mom abruptly went missing. After almost a year of agony, a man was convicted of her murder and sentenced to a 45-year sentence. After that, it has always been me and my dad. I have lived with him on and off, as long as my daughter has been alive. When I thought I was alone or didn’t know what to do, I did know my dad’s always right there. In 2020, he went into the hospital for a common procedure, a bypass. After months of having no answers, it was revealed that while in the hospital, he contracted MRSA. This is a fast - acting, flesh eating, disease. Before we knew it, he was recovering from the amputation of his pinky toe. A few more months of daily IV treatment/ bandage changes by a nurse or myself, we went from healing to the complete opposite. The MRSA never stopped spreading. While he was seeing dozens of doctors, and yet no progress, his body was working in silence. He ended up hospitalized and in an induced a coma, waking up a few days later to one of his legs gone due to the spread of this MRSA. Another day, and he is being told that they need to amputate his other leg because the MRSA was never caught by the doctors and he had no choice. It had already spread past the point of treatment, and it was his legs or his life. Overnight my father’s life had changed. After a few years and more doctors’ appointments then we can count, my dad, my daughter, and I currently live together. While my dad is self-sufficient and involved with his daughter and granddaughter every single day, he is restrained to his wheelchair. His strength, love, and support have never swayed despite his “new” limitations though. Every morning and every single afternoon, without fail, my dad uses his motorized wheelchair to help me get my baby to school. She hops on the back of it, almost like it was made for her, holds on, and will remember these rides to school with her grandpa for the rest of her life. Ignoring the medical bills and extreme price tag on having the prosthetic for his shorter leg refit, my dad deserves an upgraded wheelchair. One with no miles and the tires won’t be bald on this one! I ask for help. All my life, my dad always did whatever he needed to, so my life was easier. Despite becoming disabled, he continues to do so to this day. He helps me make sure my daughter is taken care of when work threatens our schedule. He helps me navigate through life and has become my definition of “a hero” So, i ask for help to return the favor and make my dad’s life a little easier. Please if you cannot contribute could you pass this link along to someone who can , and if as many people as possible without feeling pressured. Small acts of kindness bring great joy. We appreciate your consideration more than words can say. From our family to yours THANK YOU The wish list is We need a new wheelchair , prosthetics for both legs that he can actually walk with , a wheelchair accessible minivan as we have no current form of transportation to support his disability