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AUBURNDALE, Fla. (WFLA) — Constant worry is the theme of Nicole Robinson’s life. Hurricane Ian didn’t help. Weeks after the deluge, as she caresses her son Wade’s head, she remembers the stress of the storm.
“I was just so, so scared of what could happen if we stayed,” Robinson recalled.
Wade Robinson has Spinal Muscular Atrophy — a rare genetic disease that affects his muscles. He can’t move, breathe, or eat on his own, let alone make it through a hurricane.
After initially deciding to stick out the storm in their Auburndale home, Robinson woke up one night in a panic. She checked the storm’s track — it was headed toward Lakeland, putting them close to its path. She made the executive decision and booked a hotel in Orlando. They evacuated the next morning in their specialized van that carries Wade’s stroller — he can’t sit up.
After making it through Wednesday, Wade had a seizure right before going to bed. They called 911 and went to the hospital where he stayed overnight. The trials and tribulations weren’t over.
“Trying to get back to the hotel,” Robinson remembered. “The water there was just too much and it overtook the van.”
Robinson and her husband got out in the pouring rain and started pushing the van up to a drier spot while their 11-year-old son steered the wheel.
Miraculously, a tow truck happened to be driving by after giving another person a lift. The Good Samaritan driver gave them a ride to their hotel. The van was a total loss.
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Not only does a ruined van mean Wade can’t go anywhere, including his doctor’s appointments, but it also ruins his ninth birthday — a trip to Walt Disney World.
“This was a big plan that we made,” Robinson said. “It just hurts that he just won’t get to experience Magic Kingdom for the first time on his birthday.”
Robinson found a good replacement van for $35,000. Unfortunately, insurance only reimbursed her $24,000 for the old one, and a GoFundMe has only raised $4,000, leaving her $7,000 short.
With Wade living on borrowed time, the family celebrates every day of life.
“We have a summer Thanksgiving and a summer Christmas, and then our typical ones in the fall and winter,” Robinson said. “We started that when he was first diagnosed because we were told he wouldn’t see a Christmas.”
But Wade has seen eight Christmases so far — now he wants to see those Disney World fireworks.
If you’d like to donate to the Robinson’s GoFundMe, you can find the link here.
And if you’d like to keep up with Wade’s journey, you can follow his Facebook page here.
