JarodMobile2: Wheelchair van needed for Jarod and family.

Thank you for getting the ball rolling! 15% of the Van is pledged. Please share with friends and family to help us meet this goal!

The cats keep Jarod company and love to nap on his electric warmers! Jasper and Casper doing their morning devotions….or are they after those tweeting birds?

Jarod’s sister with the rooster, not the Rudester! Hannah’s Happy Hens keep the eggs rolling. Now to get Jarod on wheels!

Alpaca are shy but dramatic! Oscar, the brown alpaca regularly “plays dead.” They do everything together. Hilarious show to watch!

Everything Marvel and Star Wars interests Jarod.

Jake, senior labradoodle, is training Tripp for guard duty to announce visitors when they arrive.

The JarodMobile2

Jarod is a young man in need of new wheels! As a young adult with quadriplegia, he is interested in many things, and wants to join his family on jaunts to the beach, the pool, a park, a racetrack, or his sister’s graduation from high school!

My name is Danna, and I am a retired teacher, nurse, and swimming instructor with a request for your help in opening up Jarod’s access to the world. I met Jarod at Howard T. Ennis School in the early 2000s where I was working as a teacher and helping with swimming lessons. Ennis is a very special school for the education of children with severe and profound disabilities. One of the best qualities of Ennis is that the education is designed to help each student achieve their highest potential. Since Jarod is confined to a wheelchair, his adventures depend on having reliable transportation. The family van has worn out. Getting a new wheelchair accessible van is quite expensive. he and his peers loved the water. delight on their faces as they moved about in the water.

Jarod , born a healthy and strong baby, is a victim of a daycare tragedy in which he experienced Shaken Baby Syndrome, now wheelchair bound and a quadriplegic, but with a mind that is full of spunk and personality.

Jarod's family is active, adventurous, and would love to continue to offer Jarod rich life experiences. He loves the water, trains, all things Star Wars and Marvel characters. His interests are many: basketball, racing, sports, crime mysteries, who “dunnit”, and educational documentaries.

Although he cannot speak audibly, he communicates via facial expressions, body language, and eye gazing. He can also use his eyes to respond to questions with a blink indicating “yes.” He has a dry sense of humor and loves to engage in teasing his family by responding with facial exoressions as he listens to them talk and share their daily lives.

Jarod’s younger sister, Hannah, an honor student at Sussex Central High School, raises chickens that produce eggs. Every day, Hannah and her mom, Sherry, take care of the animals and report back to Jarod. As they talk about the rooster with an attitude who doesn’t approve of them harvesting the eggs he sired, Jarod gives an “Elvis lip” smile as he hears how his Mom was accosted by the rooster. His bed faces the field where the Alpaca graze, and he enjoys the drama of these hilarious animals as the family shares with him stories of their antics each day.

Jarod would love to have reptiles of all kinds. For now, he settles for a fish tank, stuffed animals, 3 cats that fawn over him, sharing his electric blankets on cold nights. The two family Labradoodles keep watch for stranger danger and alert him of someone at the door, dutifully announcing the arrival of his caregivers and nurses each shift change.

Sherry, Jarod’s mom, dreams of the day they can once again travel as a family in their own van. The present JarodMobile has worn out and is no longer serviceable. It has taken Jarod and his family on many adventures. Jarod loves trains, and was able to participate in the Lancaster train museum and rides. He would love to continue to travel to zoos, museums, exhibits, air shows, races and enjoy the pool once again. All of this requires transportation. Without wheels, Jarod is limited to travel within the state of Delaware via the DART bus schedule. While appreciative of this service, it does not compare to being able to take a family day trip or vacation to explore his many interests.

Living with a handicapping condition is expensive. Medicare does not cover the cost of adding a bathroom accessible by wheelchair, nor a wheelchair van. Jarod has outgrown his bathtub and needs to have an entire bathroom remodel at this point. There are grants for many things, but none cover the great cost of a vehicle provide the freedom of movement that so enriches Jarod’s world.

Please consider giving to a new JarodMobile that can accommodate his wheelchair, his family of 6 people and 2 dogs. We are hoping to purchase a van with a lift that is equipped with a TV for Jarod to communicate via his eye gaze device, and to be available to take him on regular jaunts with the family to enjoy this great big world.

Jarod has left a mark on all those who meet him. There are teachers, nurses, caregivers, friends and family that love him dearly, and continue to nurture relationships with Jarod. We would love to see this GoFundMe for the JarodMobile2 shared across the world so that he can once again participate in adventures and excursions with his family. The cost is great, but the return on this investment will be years of safe transportation for Jarod to go to his many medical appointments. To manage the complexities of living in a body that is trapped in paralysis takes a village of loving and caring family and friends. Jarod has a wonderful system of support, and if we all contribute a little for a vehicle, Jarod’s horizons will blossom so his ever curious mind can continue to discover this great big beautiful world. Thank you in advance for your investment in Jarod. It is such a joy to see his courage in living as a person impaired by physical limitations. He is blessed with a devoted family that loves each other and enjoys being together. Our gift to his freedom through transportation will be so well used and appreciated! Thank you for your heartfelt gift and please, share Jarod’s story so that we can help this young man get back on the road with new wheels in the JarodMobile2!