A Wheelchair Van For Bee

Hello! My name is Susan and I am a divorced mother of two wonderful children. My daughter, Bee, is 18. She was born with a rare disease called Lissencephaly. Bee is severely physically and mentally disabled and requires total care. Because I am her sole caregiver this has limited my ability to work and our income is . . . very tight, to say the least. Because Bee requires the care of specialists including a Gastroenterologist, neurologist, pulmonologist and regular physician, we spend a great deal of time in our van. Unfortunately, our van is on its' last legs, so to speak. The a/c no long works, which is a major problem for my daughter as we live in Florida and she has seizures when she gets too warm - the temp in the van often exceeds 100 degrees even in the spring. Additionally, this is not a wheelchair van. I have a carseat that I must lift her into and then a "stroller" type wheelchair for our appointments. This wheelchair is not her normal wheelchair, made for her comfort, but one that we can fold enough to get in the van and get her to her appointments. This makes her very uncomfortable and most visits to the doctor are difficult for her because of this. We were homeless for a year and when we moved into our new apartment children broke out the back window of our van and we have not been able to replace it. There is an oil leak, the brake fluid leaks and we had to replace the engine just before Christmas but it is starting to act up again. Most months we fall short financially and as a result saving up for a new to us vehicle is beyond my ability. Without a vehicle, transporting Bee to her appointments, going to the store or pharmacy would be impossible and we desperately need help raising the funds for a new to us vehicle.Meet Bee:When she was just six weeks old, Bee began to have seizures. After a spinal tap and an MRI I was told that she had been born with a rare disease called Lissencephaly. Apparently I caught a virus during my pregnancy while teaching Pre-K and passed this virus on to her. Basically, her brain is completely smooth with no sulci or gyri. Bee's physical abilities are very limited: she cannot walk, talk, sit up, hold her head up, move her arms or legs with purposeful movement and she is blind and g-tube fed. Mentally, we really have no idea as testing her is impossible. However, my son (who is 14) and I treat her like we would any other 18 year old from the books we read to her to the way we engage her.  We often paint with Bee, and she loves music - especially nature sounds like dolphins and whales. When she was less than a year old she went through a week of dolphin therapy! She loves books from audible.com and, until her ipod worn out, often listened to them. Her favorites were anything narrated by Jim Dale. For Christmas her brother gave her a Hallmark bunny Abigail that responds to stories and this is, by far, Bee's most favorite thing. She loves it when Abigail giggles! Bee is a vital part of our lives. Her hospital bed is in the living room so that even when she is in bed she is always in on whatever we are doing. You should see her face light up when she hears her brother come home from school! And although her condition has made our lives more difficult and my son has had to give up certain "normal" things other kids his age have or do, he has always been her biggest fan and often reads to her or paints with her. As you can see, while we are not blessed with an abundance of money I have been more than compensated by two extraordinary kids!