Fresno teen Sara Villegas, 17, needs the community's support to help with a wheelchair accessible van from the National Mobility Awareness Month contest.
The Sunnyside High School senior was born with a rare spinal disorder called Caudal Regression Syndrome, which causes partial paralysis and undeveloped lower extremities.
Sara uses her arms to move around in her wheelchair, and sometimes getting around campus can be a challenge.
"I have to get out of my chair and push myself up and transfer onto the car, into the car, and then my mom will put my chair in the back," Sara says.
She's never let that stop her from going after what she wants to accomplish. It has, however, caused her to show early signs of developing arthritis and tearing in her ligaments, according to her doctors.
"If I do it a lot, it'll start to hurt, and I can feel it in my wrists and in my hands and in my neck," Sara says.
Sara's family struggled for a long time to purchase a motorized wheelchair. Her mother's insurance company repeatedly turned them down.
In November, Sara was able to get a motorized wheelchair. But now, her use of it has been limited.
"That's because my van is not equipped to carry a power chair, and it's very difficult for me to load and unload the portable ramp," says Sara's mother, Rosita Juarez-Villegas.
Juarez-Villegas says she's not in great health, and loading and unloading Sara's wheelchair is difficult and strenuous.
If Sara were to win the wheelchair accessible van, she says she would feel independent and get to experience freedom, not having to rely on her mother, friends or family to get her to where she needs to be.
"Her life would be improved greatly--her self-confidence," Juarez-Villegas says.
Sara has goals, ranging from attending a four-year university out of town, to simply being able to move around on her own.
At school, Denise Krohn-Shafer has been Sara's case manager since her freshman year and has seen her develop as a student.
"She has such a bright future. She's such a bright young lady. I would hate to see her sell herself short of her goals because of mobility," Krohn-Shafer says.
Online voting is open now until May 9. The winner will be announced in June.
To vote, visit http://www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com/entrant/rosita-juarez-villegas-fresno-ca/
The entry is under Sara's mother's name, Rosita Juarez-Villegas.
To keep updated on her progress, visit Sara's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vote-4-Sara-2014/1428654884045158?ref=br_tf