Help Ruth get a Family Size Wheelchair Van

Aloha!
 
We are Hallelujah and Ian Duncan.

We are parents of Ruth. Ruth has global developmental delay and although she is almost 16, she is about 1 year old in her mind. She is nonverbal and unable to walk with out full assistance. She can roll around the floor and sit up on her own.  She is an extremely happy and joyous child. She loves to laugh and will hold on to a joke for a very long time.
Ian is Ruth’s dad by choice for nearly 13 years now. We moved back to Maui in 2007 so Ruth could be near her biological father.
In late 2008 we realized my dad was not doing well by himself on the Big Island so we brought him to live with us in early 2009. He was 69 then.Many of us remember she was given a wheel chair van in 2013 through an amazing benefit concert. We have been very thankful for this van, though at this point our family has grown (Ruth’s littlest sister Rowan was born in 2015) & it is a mini van missing the middle row of seats, so it only holds Ruth, two car seats and two adults.

This means even if we borrow the mini van from her dad, that Grampa can not come with us. Additionally with Ruth's father's recent health challenges, the current ramp van is essential to his transportation, although we have had Ruth 7 days a week since May 2017.

We realized that we would truly be able to enjoy and care for our family so much better if we just had our own lift van that fit Ruth easily and has room for both her sisters and for Grampa Craig to join us. At 79 years old, getting him out of the house and to friends and family’s events is a good idea to keep him going strong. Letting us all ride in the same vehicle means Grampa doesn’t have to worry about driving at night or just missing out on so many things we could all do together.

We found a van that will work and it is already on Maui! Manifesting this vehicle that fits our entire family is a dream come true. 

Here is Ruth in the van. She loves it so much she laughed and squealed the entire test drive. I think she enjoyed sitting in the back, safely strapped in her transport wheelchair, where she could  easily see both of her little sisters in front of her. 






The whole interior is vinyl and easy to clean, and if you know Ruth, you know that she has a hyperactive gag reflex!
We even know it's History! It originally belonged to the family of a girl named Eve, whom we knew through Ruth’s Therapeutic Horsemanship Program. Eve's family moved to the mainland to help her receive better care with her medical issues and sold the van to a family here with 5 boys. The dad of this family has taken extreme care in fixing and maintaining this van to bring it up to truly amazing standards.  Now this happy family is leaving the island and selling the van.

We have realized that there are many gatherings and events and invitations which we have not gone to simply because of the logistical challenges with moving Ruth. We have been doing our very best to make the most out of our situation. Sometimes Mom will take the two little girls to a friend’s birthday party, Daddy Ian will stay home with Ruth and Grampa. Sometimes Mom will stay home with Ruth and Daddy Ian will take the two younger girls to Rose’s Hula practice. We have been making it work, though it has meant splitting up our family.

We are putting it out to the universe that this van will make our care of Ruth much easier and more streamlined. We won’t be hurting our bodies loading her and then her wheelchair. We won’t have to leave Family members behind because there’s no room to bring every one along. Heck we can even include friends with this new van!

It seems like the time is right for us to have a van that will fit us all, and even a few friends for the girls. Then we could all go to the beach! Ruth would be safe in her transport chair, we could fit a few boogie boards for the girls and a cooler. We could even bring our dog with us!

We are out of our comfort zone asking for help, and yet this "Why" is great enough that we are leaning into the discomfort.

Thank you for taking time to read this. We are grateful for any help securing this van for our family. We have teamed up with the nonprofit World Family Foundation to facilitate the van coming to us.

Please share on Social media and email this to your friends and family. 
https://www.gofundme.com/RuthsFamilyVan 

Any donation will help bring this amazing vehicle closer. Thank you for your prayers and contributions towards Ruth's Family Van. All monies received will go directly toward purchase of van, vehicle registration and fees for GoFundMe.

We live in an abundant universe. We are grateful for, and amazed by, the blessings we receive.

Mahalo Ke Akua