
Ride Diego, Ride
I'm reaching out to family and friends today to ask for help. We are in desperate need of a wheelchair accessible vehicle for Diego.
We are still lifting him into the middle seat in our minivan and lifting his manual wheelchair into the side or back. At 14 and rapidly growing, he's now over 100 lbs and 5 ft tall.
An accessible van would allow him to ride into the van in his motorized wheelchair, which would give him much more independence while out in his community, along with saving our backs from so much lifting and transferring.
He has made so much progress this year with us homeschooling and concentrating more on therapies. Diego's social skills are improving drastically and it's time to get him involved in the world outside home and extracurricular activities with peers.
An opportunity has opened to buy a pristine condition used full-size converted van listed at $8,000. Even if this plan doesn't work out, we are searching other options and need to make a purchase as soon as possible.
A brand new converted van costs around $60,000. Used conversion vans start at $30,000. We are in the process of rebuilding our credit, while constantly battling medical debt, Diego's as well as both of his parents who have required back procedures related to years of lifting him.
We do not qualify presently to finance a vehicle, so we're looking for an older model converted van under $10,000. If you feel called to help us make this need a reality, we would be forever grateful!Diego is 14 years old and he's our hero. He is a brave, beautiful, joyful, strong-willed, loving boy. His diagnosis includes: Quadraplegic Spastic Cerebral Palsy; Microcephaly; Epilepsy; visual impairments; physical, intellectual, emotional, and speech delays. Along with these come a constant stream of large expenses - surgeries, therapies, durable medical equipment, personal care assistants, medications, adapted home modifications... the list goes on.