Help Juwaan Espinal

My son Juwaan turns 17 this month. He is a nice kid,big smile with lots of friends, a Facebook account, loves One Direction (the band) and loves football. He has cerebral palsy and suffers from seizures.  As a working mother, it has been a struggle to provide for  Juwaan since he was born with limited to no help. This past fall, Juwaan had spinal surgery, to fix his curved spine and prevent lung problems.  Since the surgery, Juwaan has gained about 20 pounds and grew about 5 inches long. This is one of the reasons he needs an accessible van.


An accessible van is very expensive. I have been unable to save as I use all extra funds to cover Juwaan's health care expensive and take care of my daughter Shanelle as well. 
 
Juwaan has always been thin, but now is growing at a fast pace which means several things. He will not fit into a standard car seat which we use to transport him; since the surgery we have to be careful how we bend and position him into the car seat; which can be difficult with the added weight.  The wheelchair is pretty heavy as well, I lift the wheelchair and place it in the truck by myself.Currently most of Juwaan’s equipment is left at school since our home (apt ) is not wheelchair accessible, including his power wheelchair, which he is learning to drive himself. For the first time since birth, he can move himself from one place to another. We cannot keep the power wheelchair at home because we do not have an accessible van, which means he can’t use it in the community to go to games or the mall. I put him in and out of my car, which is getting more difficult as he gets bigger. It’s not the easiest way or safe for him or me. 
 
 

Having a van will help Juwaan in so many ways. It will make it easier to take care of him, and we can get him to doctors appointments more easily. He can travel to school games and just become more social