Article
and Video Courtesy of News Channel 8 -- Tampa Bay
By Corey Davis
Published
September 5, 2017
|
Watch
VIDEO
|
TAMPA – A Hillsborough County woman in desperate need
of a kidney is turning to 8 On Your Side for help over a dispute with
her homeowners’ association.
Gabi Morales says the Glen Oaks HOA
wants her to remove magnetic signs she has placed on her
car.
“It’s a community, you’re supposed to help each other,
not tear each other down,” Gabi says.
The signs are about 12 inches x 10 inches. She’s had the
signs on the two back doors for a month trying to
encourage people to go see if they’re a match or a
potential donor for others. |
|
|
The sign reads, “23-year-old needs living kidney donor! Give the gift of
life! Facebook: Find a Kidney For Gabriele ‘Gabi.’”
Gabi says a HOA board member is now telling her that the signs are
against community rules, and that the signs would make her car a
commercial vehicle.
But Gabi and her mother, Tammi Morales, tell us they
aren’t selling anything and are only asking for help. They
don’t believe their car is a commercial vehicle.
“And I know there are rules and we have to follow the rules,
but if this doesn’t constitute as a reason to break a rule,
tell me what does,” Tammi says.
Gabi says the fines could be $100 per violation if the HOA
pursues it any further.
A board member who lives next door tells 8 On Your
Side that he didn’t want to get involved and wouldn’t make a
comment. |
|
|
The board president was contacted by email, but 8 On Your Side didn’t
hear back at the time of this article.
Gabi is hoping for a life some might take for granted.
“I’m 23-years-old. I have goals that I want to do, I want to travel.”
But she’s limited because she spends 10 hours a day hooked to a dialysis
machine.
“My dad’s, I got a month before my fifth birthday and it lasted me until
March 2015, which is 18 years,” Gabi says.
She’s on the donor list with three hospitals.
Her family now has a lawyer and Gabi says they won’t take the signs down
as she continues to wait for a kidney donor.
|