Help father and hero Thomas Westerhaus get the mobility he needs

Please consider giving to Thomas Westerhaus, father and hero. He and his family need help to purchase a wheelchair van to accommodate his power wheelchair.

In May 2022 Thomas Westerhaus went viral after he saved a young autistic boy from drowning in a Lawrence, KS apartment complex swimming pool: https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/12-year-old-boy-and-his-dad-recognized-as-hometown-heroes-after-saving-toddler-from-drowning . The child crawled under a locked gate, fell into the community pool and nearly drowned. His life was saved by the heroic actions of Thomas who, when alerted by his son, ran from his apartment, quickly scaled a 6-foot fence surrounding the pool, pulled the unconscious boy from the water and gave him lifesaving CPR for 3 minutes until emergency services arrived. Thomas and his son, Maddox, were honored and awarded for their bravery by the Lawrence Kansas Police Department and the LDCFM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNc93EdEI9A. Their bravery and heroism was even reported on by the TODAY show: https://www.today.com/parents/dads/drowning-pool-hero-boy-rcna31219

The news of the rescue spread quickly, but what most don't know about this humble and quiet hero is that he has been fighting for his own survival against cancer for almost 10 years. A mere month before saving the life of the child, Thomas had one of his lungs and part of his aorta removed as the cancer had spread throughout his body. Still recovering and bearing the stitches from this intensive and life altering surgery, Thomas did not think twice about running from his 3rd floor apartment and scaling a 6-foot-tall fence surrounding the pool to save the life of a drowning child.

After many invasive surgeries and numerous rounds of life-threatening chemotherapy, Thomas's cancer has spread to his spine and resulted in paralysis from the chest down. In July of 2025 he lost his ability to walk. Thomas is only 37 years old. The heroic young father is now bound in a powered wheelchair and dependent on ride services to leave the house and get to necessary medical appointments. As wonderful as these ride services are, they are not always the most reliable and have limited operating hours and Thomas has had to miss several important medical appointments because of this. In addition to restricting his movements to the few hours these services are in operation, his wife and son are also limited as they must always be nearby to give him care. Thomas is no longer able to leave his home, work, or enjoy his favorite activities, which include hiking, fishing, and spending time outdoors with his family.

Medical expenses and lost income from unemployment due to his illness have severely impacted Thomas and his wonderful family. Numerous surgeries, rounds of chemotherapy, hospital stays, ER visits, and specialist care has left Thomas and his family finically strained for the last 10 years. They cannot afford the vehicle accommodation they need to regain the mobility, reliability, and dignity needed for Thomas's care and he and his family's quality of life.

Please consider giving what you can if you are able so that this courageous young man and his beautiful family can purchase a wheelchair van to accommodate his power chair. If Thomas and his family can raise the funds to purchase a van capable of moving his power chair Thomas’s quality of life would skyrocket. He will no longer be confined to his home and completely dependent on ride services, which only allow him to go to doctor’s appointments. The gift of a wheelchair van would give Thomas his independence back and allow him to attend his son Maddox’s sporting events, family gatherings, and enjoy time in nature, which he dearly misses being able to do. With your generosity Thomas can regain some of the mobility that most of us are fortunate enough to take for granted.

Thank you, and God Bless!