Hope for Hana

My husband, Vincent and I have been happily married for 7 years, living a simple life here in Houston. My husband believes that good things happen to good people so we tried to lead a good life and treat people the same way we wished to be treated. 

My husband's great interest has always been antique cars and one in particular "“ a classic Mini Cooper "“ has been in his dreams ever since he was a child. A couple of years ago he found his dream come true car for sale. Vincent has never asked for much "“ he is the most selfless person I can think of! My husband never asked for anything for himself "“ he always put his family first. Knowing how much he wanted the car, I encouraged him to buy it. He was reluctant at first but we scrambled to get the money, borrowed some here and there and finally bought his dream come true car. It became his great pride and joy and I knew it was worth it.

Two years later we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy and he soon became the greatest Mini Cooper fan! The two would spend daddy-son time in that tiny car playing with the buttons and honking the horn or taking little rides on local streets. It was a joy watching them.This picture is just a memory now. My husband decided to sell the car and placed it for sale on the internet.

A few days after the car was shipped to New York by the towing company, we were alerted by Paypal - the company in which we received money for the Mini "“ told us that the buyer complained of not receiving the car sent to him in New York and that we would have to pay back all the money sent to us "“ our years of savings and investment. My husband tried to call Paypal to explain our situation "“ only to be told that the buyer would get his money and that Paypal would put our account at a minus $15,000 that we would have to pay or they would send collecting agents. We knew it was a scam as soon as we called the car delivery company to check on the status of the car. We have a receipt from the car delivery company with the signature of receiving the car. We were told to file a complaint with the Queens, NYPD. My husband spent the day calling NYPD, only to be transferred back and forth until he sat listening to a phone ring with no answer "“ for up to half an hour! We also contacted HPD and even FBI to report organized crime - that was after my husband found his stolen car on craigslist for sale in New York!

Now, we have no car and no money from it. My husband and my son loved that car. Vincent decided to sell it after we found out that we were expecting another baby. I was trying to convince him to think that through "“ I knew how much that car meant to him. However, our circumstances changed dramatically once we found out that our baby girl was critically ill.

Hana Hope (yes, her middle name came up spontaneously after we learned the bad news "“ we just felt there was so much meaning to it) was born with a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome which meant the left side of her heart was severely underdeveloped. We found out about her condition during pregnancy. Hana was born full term and needed to be stabilized immediately by the medical team at Texas Children's Hospital. She went through an open heart surgery at one week of age and spent several weeks recovering at Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. Hana is our miracle and we are very blessed that she was at the right place under care of wonderful doctors and nurses. However, due to her extensive treatment, we are now being flooded by the medical bills which are quickly piling up. We are kindly asking for your help in covering some of her medical expenses. 

 
It pains me so much that even while we live honest lives on teacher salaries, there are people intent on victimizing others. We are simple hard working people who simply do not know where or whom to contact at this moment to try to salvage our property and hard earned savings. 

 
That car was the savings we had planned to use only for emergencies. I had so many words to tell you, so much emotions to express but I feel so depressed right now, hearing one bad news after another. We are hoping that our story will warn the other people like us out there and help to prevent things like that from happening. We are asking for your support, prayers and any advice you might have to help us find justice.