Like many 11-year-old boys, Beau Dennis-Dance loves AFL, fire trucks and going to school, but unlike many of his peers, Beau suffers from a severe form of cerebral palsy that makes some daily tasks difficult, while others are impossible.
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For young Beau, the first 11 years of his life have been a challenge, both for himself and his grandmother Athleen Elwell, his primary carer.
"Beau was born with cerebral palsy, he was diagnosed when he was 10-months-old, first of all with athetoid cerebral palsy then choreo-athetoid and then, later on, he had dyskinetic, so he's got athetoid, choreo, dyskinetic quadriplegic cerebral palsy," she said.
Ms Elwell said Beaus' condition meant he required full-time care and regular visits to doctors and health specialists as he struggled to maintain a healthy weight.
She said his health problems recently culminated in a trip down South to the Royal Hobart Hospital which saw Beau placed in intensive care.
Recently, however, Beau received a fundoplication - an operation that reinforces the lower oesophageal sphincter's ability to prevent gastroesophageal reflux from occurring - which has seen his quality of life improve dramatically.
"Since then, it's just been weight gain, weight gain, weight gain," Ms Elwell said
"He's doing well, he's doing really well now and he's just the happiest little man.
"He's getting to the teenage years where he wants to have all the say, but nan still gets the final say."
It was this newfound health and freedom that was the catalyst for a Gofundme campaign set up by one of Beau's primary carers Peta Apted to upgrade the family's ageing van to a new model so Beau had more freedom.
"After driving after Athleen's little car and realizing that it's getting old and it's getting tired, and while it was in the shop, I was actually walking Beau from here in his wheelchair around to school, just to get him to school," she said.
"We decided that Beau deserved something reliable."
With Beau requiring full-time care, a day trip with his grandmother, sister, carers and other family members is not possible in Ms Elwell's converted two-seater mini-van.
For a person like Beau, a special vehicle that can accommodate his wheelchair is required at a cost of almost $100,000.
However, Ms Apted explained that under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the $35,000 conversion is covered by the federal government, but the cost of the vehicle is borne by the family.
She said in order to help Ms Elwell with the cost of a new and reliable van, she had started a campaign with a target of $60,000.
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After five days the campaign had already raised over $1000 off 11 donations, with Ms Apted saying others in the community had also pledged to support the cause.
"I think that with everything Beau has gone through we need to raise the money because he deserves a new car - he deserves it," she said.
Donations to support the cause can be made online through the website Gofundme or at participating stores displaying A Bus For Beau collection tin.
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