GoFundMe set up to buy van for disabled Somerset woman

SOMERSET — Beth Fournier, who is paralyzed and blind, does a lot of traveling in a van that she owns from her home in Somerset to get to doctor's appointments and therapy in Boston, Sandwich and Dartmouth and also to visit her friends, her mother, Donna Fournier, said. Donna's husband, Tony, drives the van for Beth.

The van really piles up the miles to go to those places. Her van has needed a lot of repairs lately, so a fundraising effort is being held to buy a new van for Beth.

"I need a new van because mine is 12 years old and in bad repair," Beth said. "We have to keep fixing it more and more. It's costly to fix."

Stacey Wright, who is the girlfriend of Donna's son, Michael Fournier, has started a GoFundMe page where money can be donated for the van. Donna said Wright has been doing a lot to get people to donate to the fund. She said Wright has held contests to get people to donate. Donna's granddaughter and Wright's children have made videos to encourage people to donate to the GoFundMe page. Donna said they have been instrumental in getting donations for the fund. Beth has made some videos for the GoFundMe page, too.

Donna said it is unbelievable how many people have donated, including people she doesn't even know, and the amounts they have donated.

"I'm in awe," Beth said of her reaction to the donations. "I feel so grateful. It makes me want to cry."

The GoFundMe page has raised over $33,000 of the $50,000 that it would take to buy a new van.

Not long after she came home from her honeymoon to Ireland about five years ago, Beth started experiencing pain and stiffness in her neck which she thought came from picking up a box, Donna said. She said Beth's arms went numb, she had a cough and she couldn't swallow. She said after Beth walked into the emergency room of the hospital, she couldn't walk anymore. After 48 hours, she lost control over all of the muscles in her body, lost the ability to speak and even blink. She could no longer breath on her own, so was placed on a ventilator.

Her husband brought her to Norwood Hospital where she was then sent to Massachusetts General Hospital. Donna said her daughter was out of it for several weeks at Mass General. She read Harry Potter books to her because she enjoyed those books when she was a girl.

Donna said Beth was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Guillain-Barre syndrome is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. It is rare, affecting about one person in 100,000. Although many patients regain some mobility over time, Beth is one of the few patients that have been unable to regain any lost mobility, which has rendered her wheelchair bound, completely paralyzed from the torso down, and unable to use her hands. The syndrome also took her sight.

She was in a rehabilitation hospital for months on a ventilator before being able to breathe on her own before returning back to her childhood home. Since the day she was released from the hospital, Beth has required 24 hour care. She is completely dependent on others for bathing, eating, or any other activity we take for granted.

Donna said her daughter's case of Guillain-Barre Syndrome was very difficult to deal with to begin with, but got more complicated. Donna said when her daughter started to have some success speaking, she had another attack that attacked her central nervous system. She said doctors did not know why at that point she not only became paralyzed, but also blind.

When Beth moved in with her parents in Somerset, they retrofitted their house with an accessible bathroom and ramp and made an office into a bedroom.

Beth had been using a state tranportation service to bring her to therapy, doctor's appointments and visits with friends. But Donna said sometimes the transportation was late, did not show up at all or got lost. So Beth and her husband bought a van.

Beth, who has her undergraduate degree from Clark University and a master's degree in counseling from Bridgewater State University, had been a guidance counselor at Norton High School. Donna said Beth was very well liked by her students at the high school.

Beth, 31, attended the Chace Street School and Somerset Middle School before going to Coyle and Cassidy High School where her mother teaches English.

At home, Beth can't use her hands, so everything she does has to be audibly controlled. She enjoys audio books, games, music, news, and keeping up with her friends through messaging, going to Somerset Creamery or having them come to the house. Her favorite television show is "This Is Us." Beth was a bridesmaid at her cousin's wedding.

Donna said Beth's friend Emma Sevigny never forgets Beth. She said Emma visits Beth at their home and has brought her young daughter to meet Beth. Beth said her friends provide a lot of support to her.

"I have a lot of good ones and they help me to live," Beth said.

Beth has no movement in the lower half of her body. They have a lift at home to lift her from her bed to her shower chair and to a wheelchair. Beth gets supported living services from three personal care assistants who are paid by MassHealth. They give her showers, dress her, feed her, give her medications and provide other services. Donna's husband helps care for Beth in the afternoon which includes feeding her lunch and personal care.

Donna said the coronavirus would be dangerous to her daughter because of her immune system.

Those who would like to donate to help Beth get a new van can go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-beth039s-family-get-a-new-van.