Hey friends...This is Andres & Austin Torres.  They need our help.  Both boys are in the advanced stages of Duchenes Muscular Dystrophy. They are wheelchair bound and completely dependent on their mom for their daily care needs, which she does all on her own. They both attend school everyday and are smart, kind boys who are wonderfully well cared for and loved by their family, teachers and friends too. Their mom, however, has needs that go well beyond simply caring for her boys.

They have some outstanding bills that need to be taken care of and a 2003 Ford 350XL Econoline van... with a wheelchair lift that was donated ~2 years ago to them by a wonderfully generous local family.  The van is in need of engine repair (I do not know the issue). It will need to be towed from their home to a mechanic for diagnostics, and any repair cost will need to be charitable. This van is the only means of safe transport for the boys aside from the school bus that brings them to school each day. These wonderful boys have been confined not only to their bodies, but also to their home for too long.  They have not been able to go anywhere other than to school and to their medical for appointments in over a year.  She has a lot on her plate.

The boys need to be secured in their electric wheelchairs for mobility, as they can no longer support themselves safely to be moved from their electric wheelchairs to manual ones (her manual chair was stolen out of her truck anyway, so she doesn't have one anymore!!!)...so they are stuck until they have a working vehicle to keep them safe when they go out. When I asked them where they would like to go when their van is fixed...they said maybe to the movies or to the Dollar store. I went home in tears after the Dollar store comment.

I love them dearly as do all of their family, teachers and friends, and it would mean the world to them to have the support that could get them moving again.  Their mom has stopped working to become the main support for her boys' daily care, and the cost is high to care for them. The closest Muscular D. specialist is 2 1/2 hours away in Charlottesville, VA...which means that Mrs. Torres, without their van, has had to secure safe and adequate transportation to make sure that they are safe in their ride to and from appointments.   This additional transportation cost is not covered by insurance. 

They really need our help.  These boys are teenagers and want to do typical teenage things...th heir mom wants them to be safe when they go out. 

Please...any donation, no matter how small would be a welcome start to this effort to help them to get out of some debt and moving again.  Much love and thanks to any who can assist.