Remarkable Women: Lisa Sexton

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – In December, Queen City News and its parent company Nexstar launched a campaign to feature remarkable women in our area throughout this month.

We asked you to tell us about the remarkable women in your life, and you answered!

One of those women is Lisa Sexton. People may take for granted activities like driving to the store or taking the kids to a playground. But for those with disabilities, it’s a challenge. A wheelchair-accessible van would help, but for many families, something like that is impossible. That’s where Lisa comes in.

Years ago, Lisa went through a health crisis of her own and spent one month in the hospital. As anyone who’s been in that situation knows, medical bills pile up, and insurance can only pay for so much.

After leaving her corporate job at age 53, Lisa decided she wanted to help people going through a similar situation and dealing with stacks of medical bills. The name of her mission? All Things Possible.

But in 2017, the focus of All Things Possible shifted to wheelchair vans after getting many requests from families with disabilities. Lisa and her Board of Directors found that there was no other organization like this in the country, except in the case of veterans.

By the end of 2022, All Things Possible Medical Fundraising had raised enough money to purchase and gift 31 vehicles to families in need.

The McDuffie family is one of them. The van was life-changing for the McDuffies, whose 34-year-old daughter Janica was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica when she was 12. Her mother, Terri, says it’s so much easier now to go to church, to the store, and one day, load up the family and go to the beach.

Wheelchairs can weigh almost 400 pounds and do not break down or fit in the family vehicle. Public transportation can be complicated, and private transportation costs over a hundred dollars one way.

The Carver Family was gifted their wheelchair van two years ago. Their eight-year-old son, Kawliga, has cerebral palsy, and his parents couldn’t transport his 300-pound power chair to multiple appointments per day.

They reached out to All Things Possible and applied for a wheelchair van.

Gifting these wheelchair-accessible vans can only happen through the generosity of so many caring people. They also hold an annual spring golf tournament and an outdoor rock concert in the fall.

For more information, visit their website at allthingspossible.org.