Grayson Rodriguez

This is my son Grayson. He’s 24 and he is a wonderful young man.   In January of 2011, he was diagnosed with Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy. He was 12 and it was quite a shock to us all. A few months later he lost his ability to walk and was confined to a wheelchair. For years we physically lifted him in and out of vehicles to get him to school, his doctor’s appointments and anywhere else he needed to go. In 2015, my mom passed away, although it was devastating for our family, she gifted me with enough that we were able to purchase an accessible Ford Explorer for him. This was with the intention of modifying this vehicle for him to drive himself someday, but as time went on his condition worsened and the system that he had trained on (and obtained his license with) was no longer a viable option. Fast forward to now, we have been given another opportunity for Grayson to drive thanks to new hand controls called the Paravan System. This system operates like a joystick, similar to that of a video game or airplane. This system is the perfect fit for Grayson as it is easily controllable and is able to be modified as Graysons condition changes. His condition has been stable for the last several years. We are so very grateful.  

With that being said, the Paravan system is not compatible with his current vehicle (Ford Explorer) and we are faced with having to purchase a new vehicle. We are partnered with the Department of Rehab, who has been assisting my son with his education since he began his college career in 2017. One of the assurances Dept. of Rehab.  made to him was that if he continued to excel in his classes and proved to be a responsible student, they would assist him financially with the modification of his vehicle. We have been persistent in contacting them on a bi-weekly to monthly basis to check their progress approval for the modification.  After 6 years of determination and persistence, they have allocated funds to have his vehicle modified, however it has to be either the Sienna or the Caravan.  Those are our 2 options. We aim to buy a Toyota Sienna, with leftover money from my mothers trust, all of our savings, and whatever money we are able to get from selling his current vehicle, his 2015 Ford Explorer, we are still expecting to be about $20,000. short. So this is where we can really use your help. My son is a very motivated and smart young man. I've watched him overcome one obstacle after another and still have this beautiful & uplifting spirit. He is graduating from Cal Poly Pomona in May with his bachelor's degree in English & Education. He will be in Cal Poly’s Masters program in the Fall. His dream is to be independent and to become a college professor and a writer. He was working part time while going to school, however Social Security kept lowering his monthly benefits, so I urged him to keep focusing on school. He is such a dedicated young man who brings home a 3.4 average, never complains about his disability, donates his time tutoring, loves Jesus and is just an awesome young man with a bright future. As his mother, I could not be more proud!! It’s not in my nature to ask for help, but we’ve hit a point where the only way this goal can be achieved is to do so. If you are able, please help make my son’s dream a reality, I’m hoping we can raise the last $20k we need to make it happen for him. If there was ever a person to invest in, it's Grayson. If you are able to help him, there is no amount too small and we are just grateful for the opportunity to be parents to this amazing young man, our son. Thank you so much for your time in reading this. Blessings to you all!