New accessible van for Jonathan

In 2005 at the age of 5, Jonathan was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The doctors informed my parents that the disease would progress from there on out and that ultimately it would take his life in his late teens or early twenties.

In 2011 Jonathan lost his ability stand on his own or walk. A year later he was unable to sit up or roll over on his own. This has created so many changes in Jonathan's life and in our family’s lives.  One of the biggest changes is that Jonathan is now confined to his power wheelchair for the majority of the day. In January 2017, after 6 years in his last power chair,  he was finally able to get a new chair that properly fit his body (as we all do a lot of growing between ages 11 and 17). Unfortunately, this new power chair does not fit correctly in our handicap accessible van. Jonathan also has to bend his neck to the side when entering the van, otherwise he would hit his head on the roof. With his muscles weakening more and more each day, he will not always be able to move his neck/head in this way. When we brought it in to see if we could add the addition onto the roof. we received bad news. Due to our van being 14 years old, having high mileage, and since it's beginning to rust, the company stated that it would not be worth adding onto this van; as this van would continue to need additional work. They also stated that the modification may not even be covered through Jonathan’s waiver funds in its current condition. They let us know we should start looking for a new van to fit Jonathan’s needs.  A new handicap accessible conversion van is an expense we did not foresee we would need any time soon. Jonathan enjoys being able to get out into the community, has many medical appointments to attend, and enjoys to go visit his family quite often; and this is his only means of transportation. Any help that you can give would be so greatly appreciated, and we thank you in advance.