A Wiscasset woman with muscular dystrophy, once a softball team captain and cheerleader at Brunswick High School, debuted her new wheels on Facebook this week after getting help from former classmates and people around the world willing to donate money.

Cindy Flavin, a mother of two, relied on her previous van for transportation, but it stopped working in April. It was equipped with a scooter lift and without it, she couldn’t go anywhere without help — not to the grocery store or to bring her daughter to soccer practice. The form of muscular dystrophy she has, a progressive disease, has made a wheelchair necessary.

“Being able to go to and from places on my own is my only way to keep a bit of independence in my life. It’s so frustrating to have to pay more for a vehicle due to having a disability that is out of my control,” she said at the time.

Her sister-in-law created a GoFundMe page in late March for the van because financing a new vehicle could cost $40,000-$50,000. The page quickly gained views and shares on social media.

To help, former classmates Kim Edwards and Sara Au, who graduated with Flavin in 1989, proposed a campaign on Flavin’s GoFundMe page, asking 1,000 donors to contribute $30 in 30 days with the goal to get Flavin mobile by Mother’s Day.

Then an anonymous donor and BHS classmate offered a $1,000 match grant donation for Flavin and encouraged others to give that weekend. The fund has raised more than $13,000. Donations came from BHS graduates and within Maine, but also from across the country and as far away as Canada, Australia and China.

“It is with deep excitement and gratefulness that I introduce my van ‘Momma C,’ aka Chari Moulton Burdick. It’s a 2014 Town & Country,” Flavin announced this week on her Facebook page. A contest was held to find a name for the black van.

“Without the help of those who donated, a new van would not have been possible. Without the help of my family and friends, a new lift would not be possible. Without the amazing support you all have shown me, my independence would not be possible,” Flavin wrote. “I will never be able to thank you all enough for what you’ve done. I feel truly loved and I will carry this experience with me forever.”

She added that she has been on the go and taken several trips with her new ride “and it’s been true bliss.”

dmoore@timesrecord.com