Hello. I was given custody of my grandchildren almost 2 years ago. A 16-month-old grandson, and his infant sister. It was meant to be a temporary situation but has become long term with no end in sight. Both my husband and I are disabled. My husband had a major stroke 4 years ago and is partially paralyzed on his dominant side which makes it difficult for him to perform everyday tasks. I have been disabled since 2014 with a back injury and more recently, I have fallen twice onto concrete and destroyed both of my knees. I am barely able to walk. I will undoubtedly require surgery in the not so distant future and require a care giver while I recuperate. Needless to say, it's made things more difficult regarding the children. Our grandson who is now almost 4 is severely autistic. He is nonverbal, he screams constantly and is becoming more aggressive. While he was being fostered by me, he qualified for Medicaid. However; as soon as I was given custody, all of that was taken away. My husband and I are on Medicare which does not insure any dependents. Our income does not allow us to purchase private health insurance because the cost is so prohibitive. We have nothing that we can let go of monthly to free up income. Our only "indulgence" is internet and the Disney channel. Jules is obsessed with several Disney shows and it's one of the only things that will calm him for any amount of time. Our boy can be the most loving, sweet and funny boy. I love him beyond words. I am terrified of him getting out of our apartment and onto the main street nearby. He is very stealthy. He has zero comprehension or fear of roads, water, strangers, animals, etc. Up until recently he has slept in a crib with a crib tent to keep him safe inside his crib. He's now able to pull the mesh apart and create a hole large enough to escape through. He can open locked doors. Of course, we have special locks out of his reach on both our front door and our sliding doors, but he is super smart and has learned to drag chairs to get things that he wants off counters, etc., and it's only a matter of time before he figures out one of the door locks. He is never out of sight during daytime hours, but I worry that he could elope while we are sleeping and we wouldn't know. I am up off and on throughout the night with his little sister, but there is no guarantee that I would see that he had eloped on any given night. There are beds designed for children like our Julian, but they are thousands of dollars and living on a fixed income, there is just no money for that. Along with our need for a safe bed, we need to provide him with therapies and medial care that we are not able to provide adequately at this time. There are so many things that he needs to be safe. I can't bear the thought of him going into foster care. I love him so, so much and we are his safe place. I hear horror stories about children like him being abused by 'care givers'. I love him and there are times I just have to walk away, I honestly can't imagine someone who has no emotional ties to him treating him with kindness and love the way that we do. I am putting this fundraiser out because I just don't know any other way to get him the help he needs and to keep him safe. If you are moved to help, I can't thank you enough. You'd be giving this 63 year old grammy some peace of mind and a few less things to worry about.