Accessible van changes Surrey family's life

For Danielle Brisebois, leaving the house has been almost impossible in the five years since her daughter Tayler was born.

But all that changed when her family received a Variety Sunshine Family Van — the first of 50 the charity is hoping to provide to families in similar situations.

Brisebois' daughter Tayler was born with Adams-Oliver, a rare disorder that affects multiple systems in her body.

As a result, she needs a wheelchair to get around, and with her two-year-old Shay also in tow, Brisebois' hatchback just wasn't up to the task.

"We were basically housebound," she told On the Coast host Stephen Quinn. "We were hermits."

The new van, provided by B.C.-based children's charity Variety, is fully wheelchair accessible, and Brisebois says it's done nothing short of change her family's life.

"Doctor's appointments are so much easier," she said. "[And] just the small things, even just to go to the park."

50 vans for 50 families

Variety, the charity behind the gift, wants to provide 50 more accessible vans to families with disabled children as a celebration of its 50th anniversary.

Brisebois was so moved by the gift that she plans to start fundraising efforts of her own to make sure it happens. She wants other families like hers to experience just how positively her family's life has changed.

The increased mobility has even allowed Brisebois to finally take some me-time, including an entire week without the children in July.

"I'm going to have a good seven days of sleep," she said, laughing. "I have not slept in five years."

With files from CBC's On the Coast.