Jacob Needs A Ride!

In October 2007, Jacob was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a progressive neuromuscular disorder that weakens the body’s muscles over time, and eventually results in the loss of the ability to walk, usually by age twelve. This necessitates the need for barrier free transportation and housing, as well as needing other medical equipment for daily life.
Recently, while they were spending some family time together at a local indoor pool complex, Jacob slipped on a pool deck and fell. For most kids, such a fall may result in a bruise or a scrape, but, for a boy with DMD, such a fall is life altering. The bones of boys with DMD are fragile so Jacob ended up breaking his right femur, the strongest bone in the body, and required surgery to place a large surgical nail into his femur to mend the fracture. However, because of the muscle weakness caused by DMD, the long-term prognosis is that Jacob will never walk again.
Progressive muscle loss was inevitable for Jacob, so they knew that someday he would lose the ability to walk but they were not expecting it to be sudden and so catastrophic. They feel very blessed that Jacob was able to maintain his walking, no matter how difficult it was, until he was 13 years old. He has always been a trooper trying to get the most out of life at every opportunity.
The plans that the Quinn Family were making for moving into an accessible home and purchasing an accessible van are now immediate. Until they can purchase a wheelchair accessible van, Jacob is confined to their home and unable to go on outings with his family, attend his weekly youth group, and the many appointments that are inevitable with his condition. Until they have an accessible home, Jacob is living in the family’s living room and is displaced from his bedroom which is upstairs along with the washroom.
Please consider donating to this cause to enable the Quinn family to purchase an accessible van for Jacob.
Thank you!