Missoula Family In Need of Wheelchair Van, Please Vote

There are a lot of touching stories out there. This one touched my heart as I just read a note from a friend who said her life has actually been better since she was paralyzed, she realized how blessed she really is. So when Vera reached out with such positivity about her family needing a wheelchair accessible van I knew I had to help. 

They are the only family from Montana in the race to help "local hero's" with disabilities. It's not easy being in a wheel chair but what's even worse is trying to live life normally without good/safe transportation. Please vote for Vera Mace and her family. The voting ends May 31st and they are really nice people.

This is her Story "

My name is Vera Mace and this is the shortened story of my life partner and live in caregiver, Daniel, and myself. We have been together for about 8 years now and have 2 children, an 11 year old boy and a 5 year little girl. This has been a blessing and a challenge for the both of us as I am bound to a wheelchair due to a rare neurological disorder. My son is borderline on the Autism spectrum which requires myself and my partner Daniel to be constantly on the go with appointments and various meetings. Adding to the appointments and meetings is baseball. Both of our children enjoy playing the beloved pastime.

Daniel has his own set of struggles. He is (mildly) bipolar and suffers from Social Anxiety disorder. This has not prevented him from working extremely hard on making sure that our house is clean, our food is cooked perfectly, and everyone arrives at their various destinations safely and on time. He is truly a hero for selflessly taking care of 2 kids, 4 pets, and myself; 365 days a year.

Our city is fairly progressive in its accessibility, allowing me the opportunity to participate in the PTA and volunteering to help with the myriad functions that are inherent to that organisation.

I have also opened my home to family members when they were having difficulties finding a job and a place to live, and/or just plain getting their lives back in order. Family is very important to me which brings me to my next topic.

Daniel and myself have done all of these things with an accessible van that is in pretty rough shape. The kneel system no longer works which makes the ramp a bit steeper than I prefer, the automatic sliding door must be watched carefully to ensure that it closes properly and doesn’t jam up somewhere, and the ramp no longer lowers itself down; Daniel has to do that manually. We have had to replace the transmission, as well as the gaskets on the top of the motor to fix an oil leak. We believe the only thing holding the van together is dirt and a prayer.

My family and I love to help in our community as best we can and for that, I believe we are heroes.

Thank you for reading and God bless.

Vera, Daniel, Shayn, and Hailee."