YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Rita Gibson, 66, takes care of three teenage grandchildren and two other adults in her York County home.
“I have my family. I’m very blessed,” Gibson said.
She said she counts her blessings, but life has been hard.
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Gibson works at Dollar General as the sole income provider for her grandchildren, including 17-year-old Abigail, who has cerebral palsy.
Abigail uses a wheelchair and can’t take care of herself.
Just after Christmas, the Fort Mill-based charity All Things Possible raised donations to give her a minivan to help Gibson get Abigail to where she needs to be.
[Girl with cerebral palsy gets new wheelchair van from community donations]
People noticed the family’s living situation after the donation.
Gibson has cared for Abigail since she was a baby.
Medicare pays for a home health worker every day while Gibson works.
Gibson’s home is a 42-year-old trailer that has bad wiring. Cables run across the floors in the home.
Abigail’s specialized bed rests on plywood boards, which cover gaping holes in the floor.
The boards bend when walked on.
“Her bed is sitting in there, but we kind of keep it pulled over there to the good part of the floor when she’s in it. I’m scared it’s gonna fall through,” Gibson said.
Mold has also been a problem and duct tape bridges the gap in the floorboards to keep slugs from crawling into the house.
Another charity sent crews to add on to the trailer in 2018, but the family must live in both sections of the home. The two tiny bedrooms that the other two grandchildren, ages 13 and 14, use are the size of closets.
In early March, a man who’s familiar with All Things Possible told Gibson he wanted to help her get a new home.
The unidentified man started a GoFundMe page that already has more than $14,000 with a goal of $150,000 to make a new home possible.
[GoFundMe: New Home for Rita and Her Family]
Once the money is raised, they’ll look for an older three-bedroom, two-bath home in the York or Clover area.
“I’m just so blessed that people actually care, you know?” Gibson said.
She’s not sure if this online fundraiser will be successful or not because, to her, it’s only a dream.
That dream is having a safe place to care for her grandchildren and ensure Abigail doesn’t get sick.
Gibson doesn’t feel that she did anything special to deserve the attention.
“I know a lot of people are a lot worse off than I am, and it’s very gratifying. I’m very grateful to everyone,” she said.
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