Jacob Needs New Wheels

Hi, we are the Lancaster family, just your ordinary people with an extra special little boy. Jacob is our 6 year old and he is completely dependent on us for everything. He was diagnosed with PIG-A, a genetic disorder that can cause epilepsy and other not-so-fun things when he was a baby. Over his short little lifetime, he has gone through a lot and still has quite a bit more to go through. He is non-ambulatory, which means he does not walk and is in a wheelchair for getting around. He has outgrown his old one and is now in his big boy chair. Unfortunately, that chair is not easy to transport in a regular vehicle and we have to put him in a car seat to travel. That is not a big deal, but the little dude is quickly outgrowing the car seat we have and him sitting in a regular seat is not an option as he does not have the ability to sit up alone, so it is not safe. We recently found out that he has to have major hip surgery on both hips, and the thought of getting him in and out of the car makes me dread that even more because of the way we have to put him in.

As you may know, handicap-accessible vehicles are extremely expensive and most insurances do not help with the conversion. Thankfully, he is on a program with NC that will pay for part of that but the remainder is still mind-blowing. A brand-new van can reach upwards of $85,000. The conversion itself is over $30,000. We are in the process of looking into what option best suits our growing family as we have to make sure we have room for Jacob, our older son Caleb, and the new addition that will be here in June. This is not the ideal time for us to be looking at buying a new to us vehicle but, it has to be done.

I have contemplated this for a while because we do not like asking for help, but sometimes you have to reach out to your community of people, it does take a village. Any little bit will help, and everything donated will go straight to helping Jacob get new wheels to make his life a little easier, as we have many doctor appointments ahead of us before and after surgery, and this will help us as he grows. He is a big boy and only getting bigger. He will be bigger than me in no time!

Thank you all in advance and any bit helps.