ORLANDO, Fla. — It can be hard for people with disabilities to make ends meet when their costs of living surpass their income. 

Data from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation shows for someone with a spinal cord injury, the lifetime costs of living can be in the millions of dollars.

What You Need To Know

  • Data from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation shows for someone with a spinal cord injury, the lifetime costs of living can be in the millions of dollars

  • A horseback riding accident when she was 16 left Brandi Baker paralyzed from the chest down

  • Baker says when she was younger her family, nonprofit organizations and fundraisers covered most costs — but that’s not the case now that she’s in her 30s.

  • Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation data from 2014 shows for someone like Baker and her level of paralysis, the yearly costs of living are about $70,000—which adjusted for inflation in 2023—is nearly $90,000 a year. But her annual disability income only covers a small fraction of those yearly costs.

For Brandi Baker, just getting out of her van can be a challenge. A horseback riding accident when she was 16 left her paralyzed from the chest down. Baker can still remember the moments after the accident happened.

“I called my dad, and I told him I didn’t know where I was at, because I got knocked unconscious and I kind of remember and I told him I was laying in the woods and I couldn’t move,” Baker said.

Special controls custom-fitted to her van help her get in and out of the vehicle. It’s just one of many expenses Baker must pay out of pocket for that insurance doesn’t cover.

“These cost probably like fifteen-hundred dollars,” Baker said. “Anything medical really is expensive. You put medical on it and the price goes up.”

Baker says when she was younger, nonprofit organizations and fundraisers covered most costs. But that’s not the case now that she’s in her 30s.

“When I was younger, there was a lot of fundraising and stuff like that, but you know as you get older, you want to be independent,” Baker said. “But at the same time, it is harder for somebody in a wheelchair to be independent. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a mom.”

Baker had trouble getting pregnant and then a miscarriage before having her son Declan.

“He is definitely a blessing,” she said.

But everyday activities like taking him to the skating rink leads to wear and tear on things like her wheelchair. And those costs add up.

“It’s still a lot out of pocket, I have to spend extra money for extra wear and tear on your clothes, extra hygiene items that someone in a wheelchair might need,” Baker said.

The yearly costs of living are about $70,000, according to Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Data—which adjusted for inflation in 2023—is nearly $90,000 a year.

Baker’s annual disability income only covers a small fraction of those yearly costs.

“Disability is nowhere near enough to live on your own,” Baker said. “There’s Medicare, Medicaid, but they’re not always the best insurances.”

Baker lives with her fiance, who works. And that helps. But Baker says there needs to be more money and resources available for people with disabilities as they grow older, especially if they want to have any chance of living out their dreams, like in her case, having a family.