Wheelchair Lift Van Jonathan

Hello everyone. I am the mom of a wonderful teenage boy named Jonathan. He is a wonderful young man who enjoys life and everything it has to offer him! He loves attending school, church and going on outings (except to the doctor). Jonathan loves to watch game shows, play with musical toys, and mimic everything he hears. His favorite food is steak and mashed potatoes. Within seconds, he can put a smile on anyone's face and he brightens each day for everyone around him.

When Jonathan was only four months old, he was shaken by his babysitter. He spent many weeks in the hospital after this happened and over the years has had multiple surgeries and too many hospitals stays to count. As a direct result from being shaken he has Cerebral Palsy, is developmentally delayed, depends on a wheelchair to get around, has limited use of his arms and hands, has incontinence issues, and many other health issues.

At 15 years old he is growing strong and has already reached 120 lbs. He mainly uses a wheelchair to get around when not at home, but can crawl on his knees around the house. Currently, when going out (except to school) Jonathan is lifted into our 4-door car and then when we arrive, he is lifted and put into a stroller that is almost too small for him. I am unable to lift him anymore, which hurts us emotionally on top of the physical pain, because I feel that we should be able to take care of his needs ourselves.

I am asking for help getting a wheelchair-accessible van for Jonathan. With me not being able to lift him anymore, we have had to depend on my boyfriend or a transport service to get Jonathan to appointments, which is not always easy. Lifting Jonathan is not easy for my boyfriend either, and with him working a full-time job, I am often left with little choice but to do it myself, or pay for help.

Any financial assistance that you can give us would be so wonderful! I am not typically one to ask for help and it has taken me a few days to write this and to finally agree to open up the funding. As a family, we do our best to make all of the necessary accommodations for Jonathan, but this next step is a financial strain for us. Unfortunately we are physically at a point where we need to take this next step. We plan to contribute as much as we can, but time is working against us, and this needs to be done quickly. We appreciate any and all help that we receive, from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you!