I am Legend

 

Hello,

My name is Steve Hendrickson, my family is friends with, but no relation, to the Hendrickson family that I'm about to introduce you to. It's an odd coincidence that we ended up living a mile away from each other and we are both from different parts of the country. We initially heard about the Hendrickson family when they moved to town and our son and their daughter had the same class in elementary school. Our son was super excited to come home and tell us that a new girl started and she had the same last name as him. It was shortly after we got the story from Calvin about the new girl at school that we began to see some tragic news on the local Facebook threads. A new family had just moved into town and their two year old son, Legend, suffered a non-fatal drowning. We attempted to reach out, as much as one can to strangers in that situation, to let them know that they had people in the area that were praying for them, people that were kind of close to their circumstances and also happened to share the same last name. Our daughter and Legend are very similar. Our families are very similar. Legend and my daughter, Elsie, are both considered quadriplegics, Legend's from his brain injury during drowning and my daughter's from a brain injury at birth. They are about four months apart in age. Both kid's use feeding tubes, both use wheelchairs, they attend the same school, this year it's even the same class. They both attend the same physical therapy and speech therapy, they are both nonverbal and are learning to use eye gaze devices. They both have crazy fierce Moms and both have Dads that would do anything for them. Both Legend and Elsie have older siblings that run about the same age also. Our families are both very active and have made a commitment to not allow a medical diagnosis to dictate everything we do and not limit what we do either. Everyone deserves to live their best life and participate, regardless of their individual or family circumstances.

 

 

 

 

That brings me to the purpose of this fundraiser. Legend is looking at getting an electric wheelchair soon, he's been rocking the physical and occupational therapy and is moving on up in the mobility freedom sector. As a result of this our friends, the Hendricksons, are looking at purchasing a wheelchair lift equipped van. There's a couple catches to this. First, is probably obvious, they are expensive. Second, is the family structure. They are active, this is a family that goes skiing, snowboarding, hiking, camping, plays football, does cheer leading, plays soccer, plays lacrosse; this all comes with equipment, lots of equipment means lots of space. It comes with long times away from the house when at tournaments, a full Saturday and Sunday spent on the side of the field or in a parking lot is not out of the ordinary. Jeff, Legend's Dad, and I have had discussions about this previously and we have both talked about what we want to see in a van for our families that would also accommodate an electric wheel chair, a low riding minivan with a wheelchair ramp won't do. We had both landed on a full size four wheel drive conversion style Sprinter or Nissan NV type van. These vans are big.

 

 

 

 

Big is good in this situation. Big allows for all the equipment, both medical and for siblings, have you seen how much space lacrosse or football gear takes up? Legend utilizes a feeding tube and all of his food is homemade, blended in a Vitamix, and then pumped into his stomach through a g-tube, this requires a cooler or refrigerator for the food. There is no stopping at McDonald's for a kid like Legend. Big allows for a bed, a bed allows for Legend and his siblings to rest and relax while on the road, it also allows Legend to get a diaper change with some dignity. Most people don't think about the fact that a seven year old kid is too big to put on a changing table in a public restroom, it's not fair to a little boy to be laid out on the lawn for all to see just because he needs to be changed. Big allows for seats, extra seats, extra seats allow for his siblings to bring their friends with them; something that a lot of times special needs siblings don't get to do because there just isn't enough room. Side note: you will never find a child more empathetic, understanding, loving, and patient than a special needs sibling. As you can tell from the description, this isn't just for Legend, it truly is for the whole family, a good family. With a van like this there won't be a question of who is going to stay home while the spouse takes the other kids skiing or hiking, everyone will be able to go up the mountain, as a family. There won't be a question of who is going to stay home from the lacrosse game with Legend if it might be a little to rainy out, because there will be room to hang out in the van if it gets a little too nasty. A van like this would open so many doors and blaze so many trails, it would be life changing.

 

 

 

So, to reiterate, big is good when it comes to vans. Big is not good when it comes to price. Anything having to do with medical stuff is crazy expensive. Anything with a motor is crazy expensive, especially these days. Put those two things together and you have numbers that are honestly hard to even fathom for a vehicle. But, as I'm sitting here typing this I think about the stories I hear of people buying big fancy trucks and super fast cars that will never be used for their intended purpose and the price tag for those is on par with what I've been told to budget for this. However, I can guarantee you that this vehicle will be used for it's intended purpose and I have faith in this family's ability to find even more purpose for it. When I spoke with the sales representative on the phone today I was told that outfitting a van with a lift runs about $15,000 to $20,000. They had a Ford Transit that they recently did for a customer that was about $90,000. I was told to budget for about $90,000 to $120,000 for what was described to them a a full size Sprinter or Nissan style van with four wheel drive and a wheel chair lift that would accommodate an electric chair (they are heavier) and provide adequate passenger seating for siblings and friends. I was also told to lean towards the top end so we weren't shocked at the finish line.

 

 

**This image was pulled from the Pinterest page of Outside Van (outsidevan.com) to give an idea of what I am describing. I received permission to use this as long as I acknowledge their ownership of the image**

 

Our goal is lofty, I completely understand that. I would love for this to just take off and be able to assist in the gifting of a fully funded van to our friends, I'm also realistic and not a greedy person. However, I will be greedy for someone else's benefit if given the opportunity. I would like to provide them with a down-payment of $40,000 to get them started on their way to a bit more freedom. Thanks for the consideration.

 

Steve Hendrickson (again, no relation)

 

The entire total collected for this fundraiser will be directly deposited into the account of the parent's of Legend Hendrickson for the sole purpose of procuring a wheelchair equipped van of their choosing. If we are unable to fully fund a van then the amount will be used as a down payment for a wheelchair equipped van.