Freedom for Bradley, Handicap Van & Ramp Desperately Needed

Good afternoon. My name is Christina, a home health care nurse. I am sending this urgent plea for funds on behalf of my patient, Bradley Webster. Bradley is a 23 years old with Lenox Gaustast (a seizure disorder), severe scoliosis and cerebral palsy. He also has a tracheotomy and uses a feeding tube. This plea is for 3 medically needed requests to maintain his life.

1st is for an overhead-ceiling lift for patient transfer.An example is at Midwest Patient Lifts. It is $5.000 for the lift and $5,000 for installation. I have not found one that someone was willing to donate. Bradley’s room is too small for a Hoyer lift use.

2nd is the outside ramp from the house. The current one is old, worn, and weather rotted. It won"t make it through the next winter. Bradley requires 2 people to safely navigate him and his wheelchair out of the house. I am hoping a local Boy Scout troop with an Eagle candidate will see this as a worthy qualifying project. We will not refuse any group who would like to undertake building a new ramp.

3rd is Mom’s minivan. It is too old to be retrofitted to a wheelchair lift. The Grand Caravan has too many miles for it’s age. Mom can"t afford to purchase a good used van that meets safety standards. Purchasing an already wheelchair accessible van with under 100,000 miles is at least $40,000.

Bradley weighs almost 100 pounds. His wheelchair is 88 pounds. To ready Bradley for his Doctor appointments he is picked up from his bed to his wheelchair. Then we wheelchair down the ramp. Bradley is then lifted again from his wheelchair to a car seat. This is a difficult maneuver due to his body contortions. Once he is secured, his 88 pound wheelchair must be picked up and placed in the back of this minivan. After driving to 1 of Bradley’s Doctor appointments, we lift the wheelchair from the tailgate, lift Bradley into the wheelchair. This process is repeated after each appointment to return home. A wheelchair lift van would only require 1 lift; from his bed to wheelchair. Bradley could be safely secured in the van, in his wheelchair, for any travel needs.

My goal is to raise at least $75,000 to help this family out. We are willing to take as much help as given to reduce costs.