Perseverance gets woman needed van

NORTH BALTIMORE — A North Baltimore woman is now behind the wheel of her brand new accessible van. After 2 and a half years of researching, planning and fundraising, Megan Gonyer Rush is finally driving a 2023 modified Toyota van. Rush has a condition called Friedreich's ataxia, a progressive neuromuscular condition that is similar to muscular dystrophy, and uses a power chair. "I've never had this nice a car in my life," she said. A spaghetti dinner and silent auction conducted last fall by her church, St. James United Methodist Church in North Baltimore, brought in around $25,000 for the van, she said. Gonyer's mom, Amy Heaton, also helped with the purchase, while about $4,000 came from a GoFundMe page Rush had started in March 2022. Meanwhile, modifications amounting to about $50,000 were paid by Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, a state agency that helps Ohio residents with disabilities through employment, disability determination and independence. Rush initially received the van three weeks ago but had to return it after the first day because of a minor leak. Now that the vehicle is officially back, she's getting to know her new ride better by driving on country roads and back and forth to her job at Meijer. Rush said she was nervous to drive the vehicle at first because it was so different from the 2012 van she had been using. "I drive from my wheelchair now instead of driving from the seat of the car," she said. "And the hand controls are electronic. The ones before were manual." All that really means is the control are touchy, she said. "So the brake and the gas are just a little touchier than I'm used to. Like I said, it just takes some getting used to." Rush said she was able to pick the color for the new van from several that were available. "I don't normally like red, but I really liked it. It was really pretty. And so it was, 'Oh, I want that one,'" she said. Rush, 38, was diagnosed her senior year of high school. She had always been athletic, running track and playing volleyball. Recurring migraine headaches led to an appointment with a neurologist, who ran a battery of tests that led to the diagnosis. The day she learned the results, Rush asked how long she had before she was in wheelchair. When the doctor told her about 10 years, Rush said she'd worry about it then. She graduated from high school in 2003 and earned an associate's degree from Owens Community College and then a bachelor's degree in health information management as an online student at the University of Cincinnati. Rush worked at Meijer from 2005-09 until her daughter, Olyvia, was born. A son, Owen, followed a few years later, and Rush stayed home to be with them while they were young. She married Cole Rush in 2013. She returned in work in 2020 and is currently working 18 hours a week at Meijer. In May 2022, she went from a manual wheelchair to a power chair which has helped her get around the store more easily. The search for the new van began when her previous vehicle needed repairs and additional modifications due to the progression of the disease. Rush said she's thankful to everyone who donated to the effort. "I'm very, very grateful and completely overwhelmed with how well the fundraiser went," she said. She said random people also came up to her in Meijer and handed her money to help with the purchase. "That takes a lot of trust from people. There were accounts so they would know where that was going, but they chose to just hand me money. That shows a lot of trust and I appreciate it," she said. Rush also credited her church family and her mom for their help, calling them both "amazing." "And the agency that helped me, it's great. It's really amazing that they paid that much money for it and are helpful. But some of their policies are not real helpful," Rush noted. "I had to fight a lot to get what I needed." Her main argument involved not being able to purchase a van that was already partially modified. "So if you go up to Mobility Works in Rossford, they have vans that are already partially modified to have the ramp and the floor is lower already," she said. "But just to go out and buy a regular van and then get the changes made takes 10 months." Rush said the only place in the country where these modifications are done is in Arizona. "You can imagine, they're just like everyone else, they're short-handed these days," said Rush. "Anyway, I had to argue to get them to allow me to have one that was already modified." "This organization, their whole point is to help people with disabilities keep their job. If my job wasn't so awesome, I would have lost it to be going through all this," she added. Rush has already contacted some state representatives and wants to speak with Congressman Bob Latta about these policies, she said. But for now, she's happy to finally have the new vehicle. The family hopes to take it on a trip to Michigan before school starts.