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Fundraiser seeks to provide van for paralyzed Fairfield woman
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FAIRFIELD – A Fairfield family is asking for the public’s help to fundraise for a van to transport their mother who was paralyzed in a car accident.
Heather Brown nearly lost her life when she was thrown from her vehicle in a head-on collision near Mt. Pleasant on March 4, 2022. The accident fractured several bones and left her paralyzed from the abdomen-down.
Today, more than two years later, Brown gets around in an electric wheelchair, and is able to shower herself, do the dishes and fold laundry. She’s raising two sons who she refers to as her “kings,” 13-year-old Dylan and 12-year-old Tre, and they helped her pull through the depression she suffered in the wake of the accident.
“They’re my motivation to keep going,” Brown said. “They make me keep fighting no matter what.”
Brown has received physical therapy at one of the best spinal cord facilities in the country at Quality Living Inc. (QLI) in Omaha, Nebraska. However, though her therapy has made her stronger, she’s also suffered setbacks like three falls, including one that gave her a concussion and left her unconscious for a few hours.
After Brown’s accident, the family traded in two vehicles in order to afford the monthly payments on a rebuilt mobility van. However, the van is not a reliable vehicle. It has problems with its transmission, suspension, and hydraulics, and the ramp no longer functions automatically, so it has to be lifted manually.
“Our vehicle can only be driven in town,” Brown said. “This vehicle has stuff falling off, and my dad has to work on it. If I want to go somewhere, to see one of my friends I haven’t seen in the last four or five months, I can’t.”
Jay Thompson is the Fairfield school district’s K-8 Success School Counselor, and he knew the boys from the middle school.
“I mentor the boys outside of just being their school counselor,” Thompson said, “and I can see how this is impacting them. They can’t go on trips with their mom … can’t leave the county. Before she was paralyzed, they used to go to Six Flags a lot. It’s been two different realities for these boys before and after the accident.”
Thompson wanted to do something to help the family, so he started doing research and making phone calls. He discovered there was no state support for programs to help a family like this, so he approached the missions committee at his church, First United Methodist Church of Fairfield. The missions committee agreed it was a worthy cause, and offered to collect donations on the family’s behalf.
The goal is to raise $25,000 for the family, which will pay off the $7,000 remaining on their existing 2006 mobility van and be enough to purchase a “gently used” van better suited to Brown’s needs. Thompson said he hopes an upgraded van will come with hand controls so that Brown can drive herself, because currently she is relying on her parents to drive her. All of the money raised will go to the family.
The church needs to raise this money by Dec. 1 so that it can be off its books by the end of the year. Thompson said he hopes that they can get the word out in time.
“If you’re looking for a feel-good story where you can make a positive impact, this is it,” he said. “This family is in need, and they’re kind, caring, Christian people, and this is a horrible thing that happened to them. We are thankful to any community members whether they give $5 or $5,000, it would be amazing. It would be a Christmas miracle if we could get this family a van in their time of desperate need.”
Checks can be mailed to First United Methodist Church, Attention: Van Fund, at 201 N. Court St. in Fairfield, IA 52556. For questions, call Thompson at 563-289-7107.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
