SuperMum Out of Ideas

"Hello, I’m Louise, a single mother of four. This is all new to me and I’m really not one to ask for help, nor do I really know how to!

My two eldest children were born with Ullrich Muscular Dystrophy and are wheelchair bound. Although that doesn’t stop them, being 16 and 12 I still can’t keep up with them and like most mums I’m their taxi. However, recently I was in an accident that I was extremely lucky to walk away from and had the kids been in the car it would have been a fatal experience for them. Our double wheelchair van wasn’t as lucky to make it through, leading to a dilemma. Brittney and James rely on their electric wheelchairs for their independence and I am unable to afford to pay for a professional taxi service leaving me with very few options. At the moment I am relying on a single chair van which I had to purchase the day of the accident for more money than it was worth. In fact the single chair van is not only a bigger hassle by making my trips double fold but it is also on its last legs with over 653,000 kilometers on the dash. With what little money I did have there weren’t any double chair vans and staying within budget I was forced to purchase a car that was in such bad shape that I couldn’t even resell it if I wanted.

I am setting money aside to purchase a new double chair van but due to daily living expenses and the ridiculous prices incurred because of their disability (which wasn’t their faults to begin with!) I just do not see this happening in the near future.

It is so difficult (not to mention stressful) to take the kids out anywhere, and completely impossible to attend their joint doctor appointments. It has come to the point that not only do the kids not get to go out together, but it is also effecting their medical needs. We can only delay and reschedule so many appointments. Not to mention, I am beginning to become frightened of driving the current van the way it is getting as I do not trust that it won’t stall in the middle of the road or put myself and the children in danger again.

On top of all this, the extended family has been organising a camping trip away for the Christmas holidays for quite a while now. Something that the children have been extremely excited about as we have usually been unable to participate in such trips in the past. They were thrilled when I mentioned that it was possible this year. Of course that was before the accident, without a car that is able to transport both kids the trip is impossible to do as a family.

I come to you all not expecting anything, just as a mother that is at a loss of ideas and wanting to do the best she can for her children. I understand more than most how hard times can get and know that any little bit can make a great difference."- Louise Schmidt

"Mum does everything for us four kids, she always goes above and beyond. Not many people can handle the stress and workload of not only two able bodied children but two elder ones with disbilities on top of it. She runs off no sleep more times than I can count through the week and never takes time for herself. Taking us to our many doctors appointments,  wheelchair repairs,  physotherapy, just getting the four of us up and ready every morning is a fight and a half! Not to mention running the younger ones to their after school activities, maintaining the daily household duties and so much more all on her own! That's why most call her SuperMum and why we love her so much. She is the reason why we are as independent and as strong as we are. This is the first time in my 16 years of being by my mothers side that I have seen her actually ask for help. If i could stand I would have fallen over!" - Brittney Wilson

Any help that this family receives is and will always be cherished, every cent and share counts!