Cayla Lemire

Let’s Break Down Barriers for Independence

Cayla is a Cape Cod native, living with Merosin-Deficient Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. Given that her illness is catastrophic, she has had to constantly juggle life around her medical complexities. As she has gotten older, it’s become harder for her to do tasks that others see as simple, such as holding objects, swallowing certain foods, or using a phone with hands. However, she has not let her illness define who she is or stop her from reaching her goals.

Due to the stress of COVID-19 and some medical complications, Cayla has been delayed in finishing up her Master of Social Work degree from Boston University but hopes to finish up very soon. Her dream job would be to one-day support children and families on their own journeys of juggling living with medical complexities. She has been lucky enough to have a strong support system of her own and would like to be able to do that for others, especially given that she knows how stressful it can be from her own lived experience.

Living with this illness means that Cayla relies heavily on adaptive equipment and assistive technology to provide a “normal” life for her. Some of these things are not covered by health insurance, and anything involving accessibility costs more.

Currently, she relies on a power wheelchair to move around independently. Given that she cannot sit up without custom supports, she needs to use her wheelchair in a vehicle equipped for this so she can safely get to doctor’s appointments, do errands, enjoy being out in the community, socializing with friends, as well as eventually getting to work. The vehicle she has now is 18 years old and it’s starting to fall apart, making it impossible to fix due to rust corrosion underneath. A brand-new wheelchair-accessible vehicle can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000 due to configuring it to have a lowered floor for wheelchair height, a powered ramp to get in/out of the vehicle, and wheelchair tie-downs. The vehicle needs to be in pretty good condition due to the safety of the ramp and tie-downs, so even getting a used vehicle that’s 2-3 years old can cost $40,000. Unfortunately, wheelchair-accessible vehicles are not covered by health insurance and state-funded programs are not guaranteed.

Cayla has reached out to the non-profit organization, Help Hope Live because they are able to provide her with a personal campaign page to help fundraise for a new wheelchair-accessible vehicle without impacting her medical benefits. With your tax-deductible donations, Cayla will be able to continue to live as independently as she possibly can, with a vehicle that is safe and reliable. Please consider donating towards her fundraiser and know that she is deeply grateful for your support.

To make a donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the GIVE button. And please consider sharing her page on your social media platforms.

Thank you!