We've scraped and saved, borrowed and begged for years to make sure our son Lachie who has severe cerebral palsy, seizures and is non verbal had access to the best early interventions available. We've spent countless hours, days and months in hospitals, at specialists appointments and doing therapy to help him learn to manage his body to the best of his ability, to learn to see, to learn to talk with the aid of a communication device and to assist those around him to help him through every aspect of the daily life that most of us take for granted.

We have supported the fundraising efforts of his early intervention centre to cover the shortfall between the government funding available for one of the only services in Australia to focus on assisting children with cerebral palsy and the actual cost to run the service and we have fought and challenged and learnt how to work in our local community to give Lachie a 'normal life'. 

Now at 12 Lachie is in Grade 5 at his local primary school with his younger sister and brother, he has his wheelchair and soon a communication device that he can access with his eyes. We were also supposed to have a van specially modified with a ramp to allow him to travel to appointments and activities without us having to lift him and manhandle his wheelchair into a van. Over the last two years he has become too heavy for his grandparents, aides and support workers to lift him, so that job has fallen to us his parents (who aren't covered by OH&S).

Early in 2018 we applied to the NDIS for funding to convert our van to allow wheelchair access. At the time the van we had met the criteria for modification including low kms and made within the last 3 years.

Now over 20 months later, the NDIS have finally reviewed the application and denied funding as we no longer have a vehicle to meet their criteria.

We find ourselves stuck in no mans land, we can't afford to purchase a new van or as new van and we can't secure funding to modify until we do.

And so, for the first time we are reaching out for help ourselves. Reaching out to our family, friends and community to assist us to purchase Lachie's van.

All donations will be put towards this purchase.