A little clarity...

So I have been asked a few questions lately that I'd like to answer here on the blog... Maybe you've been wondering the same things or maybe you can relate to these answers...

1. Question: Why don't you just go to the bank and take out a loan for a home? Answer: Well, let me ask this in return: Can YOU go get a loan for $500,000 or more? Do you qualify for that and make enough money to pay for it? We have to eat, just like you. :) To be totally upfront and honest, we are not and will not be in a position to afford a high monthly payment for a home- that's why I am trying to raise/earn/save enough money to just be able to pay for the home we need for London. With the money we can have each month if we don't have a mortgage payment, we can get the specialized equipment London will need for therapy and various adaptive activities. I would also spend the rest of my life paying forward the kindness that we will have received from everyone who helped us realize this dream we have for London.

2. Question: Why does London need extra space, she doesn't walk. Answer: Um... no, she doesn't walk, she relies on us to carry her into different rooms. I need more space when I walk down a hallway carrying anything than when I walk down a hallway empty-handed, don't you? So it stands to reason that carrying London around the house, I need more space. :) I need more space to maneuver. I need more space to store things like her wheelchair, and adaptive equipment I hope to one day have for her. We need more space in the bathroom to make things easier (for us and her) when bathing her. We need more space to get her dressed because she can't sit up- it's like dressing a 3-foot-long doll. We need space because we'd like to be able to use London's wheelchair in the house- like at the dinner table, in the living room to watch a movie, in the kitchen where she can sit up and help me bake cookies...

3. Question: Why do you need so much money? Answer: A customized home is expensive. Really expensive.

4. Question: Why do you want to use London's wheelchair in the house and why do you want to have so much equipment? (stander, special chairs, etc.) Answer: London has no trunk support whatsoever. Her head flops, he back slouches and her shoulders slump. She needs to be seated in proper positions to encourage muscle development, core control, and proper bone growth. For example, we want to have a stander in our home because since she does not bear weight on her legs and hips (not standing, walking, running like 'normal' kids) her hips are at risk of not developing properly and becoming easily dislocated. We want to be able to use her wheelchair more because she tolerates it well and it sits her up so nicely- I want to be able to engage her in activities like cooking and baking with me in the kitchen, eating dinner at the table, watching a movie, playing at a table or sink... all these things require her to be sitting up straight. Right now, we either hold her, lay her on the couch or her bed, or sit her a beanbag chair when we're in the house. Holding her and putting her in the beanbag chair certainly do not promote proper posture, core strength or muscle control.

5. Question: Why don't you use her disability income to pay for a house? Answer: First, she doesn't receive disability income; second, it certainly wouldn't pay for a house! haha!

Well, if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask! We'd much rather answer questions about London, her condition, and our situation than have people be afraid to offend us! :)

Love from me and London!