I was 21 when I was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder called acute-intermittent-porphyria, in which I inherited from my father. I had seizures, and almost died before I got my diagnosis. Then my stepdad left us after I became bedridden and needed a caregiver.  It was just me and my Mom after that, with me in bed and my Mom taking care of me everyday, she saved my life by the way. We then became homeless, living out of our van, with me lying bedridden in the back of the van and my Mom driving and trying to take care of me at the same time and find a place to stay that night. Later we managed to find some land we could slowly buy and, we lived in a tent until a neighbor loaned us a small travel trailer to live in until we could find something better. Mom had to put floors in the travel trailer before we could move in. She had to make it liveable, it had just been used for storage for years. We've managed to pull ourselves up from being homeless.  To buying land and living in our travel trailer on that land, until we can build our wheelchair-accessible house. My real Dad, who lives in Texas, got me this laptop as a gift because I got sick. It is my only connection to the outside world, as I never get outside because I'm stuck in bed and need a wheelchair when I'm not in bed. I live in Missouri, a very rural area. After I got my laptop, I decided to try raising donations from my bed and use what I have to work with, which was my laptop. I wrote my story of what I'd been through, and Ian posted it on Disabled World.com for me, along with  his donating $500 to get the ball rolling on my donations. I didn't even ask him for a donation, I was so surprised and happy and thankful, they are great people here at Disabled-world.com. They were hoping their $500 donation would inspire others to give too, It inspired me to never give up, but I haven't gotten anymore donations online since, but I don't want to give up, so I didn't. I started my own free blog, so I could post my story there with a donate button. I joined the American Porphyria Foundation so I could post my story there too, it will be up on their site soon. I also researched how to raise donations online and found Microgiving.com, so I decided to join. I also ask for donations on my Disabled-world profile here. I will take pictures and post them of the build, so everyone can see what their donations are going for and the great thing they are doing. I have worked hard and will continue to devote all my spare time to raising donations, because it's not easy, hard times for everyone now, and a lot of my friends can't donate. But, I'm gonna do this, get this house built, and move into it and give back the travel trailer, if it takes my last breathe. And my mother is devoted to it as well. We really need this wheelchair-accessible house, it's very hard living in a travel trailer when your bedridden. Every little bit helps, believe me. Even a dollar helps, it all adds up. And I will keep going from there, all from my bed, trying to reach my goal. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I hope it enlightens some as to my situation. Please leave me a comment. If you can't donate, follow along with my story. I love feedback and support too! Big Hugs, Penelope

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