Hi friends,

This is difficult to ask as I have only raised funds for my friends, but our family truly needs help this time.

Over the past couple of years, my health has declined rapidly due to a serious neurological/autoimmune condition that was just recently diagnosed. I went from walking independently to waking one day unable to stand on my feet. I began relying on a wheelchair in a short time, which we bought on our own. I wanted independence; insurance wants you to have people push you around. Our home was never built for this contingency.

We purchased a temporary ramp, but it wasn’t safe—I fell off it a few times and finally ended up in the ER. We have spoken with a reputable contractor who gave us the lowest quote of $1,600 for a properly built, code-compliant ramp, which we’re unable to cover. Permits for this ramp are thankfully free in our area.

My husband is a U.S. Air Force veteran who works hard to support our large household. As a family, we also care for my elderly mom with dementia, have a young unhoused man, and one of our sons who is in college to be a SPED teacher. After a major foundation and poly-b pipe foundation flood last year that required a large loan, along with mounting medical and mobility expenses insurance won’t cover, we’ve reached a breaking point.

A safe ramp would allow me to:

Safely enter and leave our home

Attend medical appointments without risk

Remain present for my family

Preserve independence and dignity

Serve my community

I am used to giving to our community. Before my health declined, I fed our unhoused and scarce food families 3x a week and eventually started a mutual aid with community effort that has provided over 10,000 meals. Asking for help now is humbling—but necessary.

If you’re able to donate, your support will go directly toward making our home safe for me to come and go. If you can’t, sharing this with others in the veteran and community networks means just as much.

Thank you for reading and for standing with a veteran’s family.

With gratitude,

Sherry