A Shelton mom is speaking publicly for the first time about her year-and-a-half battle to get a custom wheelchair for her son, who has special needs.

Shirley Lopez is a full-time registered nurse. She says she has never seen a situation as frustrating as the one she and her husband are going through.

"This system has been a fight throughout the whole time, and I'm hoping that this will shine some light on how difficult it is for families," said Shirley Lopez.

The couple has two children, 3-year-old Javi Lopez and 1-year-old Levi Lopez.

"Javi has had this angelic smile that's contagious since the time he was in the NICU," said Shirley Lopez.

Javi Lopez was born with a severe disability. His mom says she's been battling with her insurance company for more than a year and a half to pay for a custom $10,000 wheelchair.

"They said it was not medically necessary, so therefore, I had to go through various appeals, have specialist doctors write letters justifying his need for his wheelchair," said Shirley Lopez.

The parents say Javi Lopez has been accepted into a special needs pre-k program in Trumbull and is set to start in January, but they say he'll only be able to attend if they get him a custom wheelchair.

She says the wheelchair has already been built but is sitting in a warehouse while the fight for coverage drags on.

The family says they will need to pay for the wheelchair themselves. They have started a GoFundMe to help raise the money.