Tristan needs a handicap van

Tristan needs a handicap van!

Tristan is 10 now, and growing every day! He has Spina Bifida and Austim, and has had 18 surgeries (5 spinal, 3 brain.) I really dislike putting all the stress on his back when I load him up.

I have handled all his needs up until this point with my worn out 1995 Honda Odyssey. However, after he had another back surgery earlier this year and put on some much needed weight, he needs a ramp van. He is getting so big that it is very difficult to move him back and forth from his wheelchair to the van. My wife, Julia, can barley move him from his chair to the sofa.

Because of the difficulty in lifting him, it has become harder and harder for us to take him out to do fun things, run errands, get dinner, etc. To make matters worse, I had broken my back in 2007. Four of my vertebrae are fused and sometimes my back pain really affects my ability to move him around.

I have just bought a house and have spent almost every dime I had making it a safe and healthy environment for my boy. With all of the expenses from the house and for my boy, I am not able to afford much of a car payment. At least not one of this size.

We would like to get something a bit newer than the 1995 Oddesy so that we can rely on it for years to come, but accessible vans come with a pretty steep price tag. The cost of converting a vehicle you already own can cost up to $20,000 alone. A 2000-2005 used van ranges from about $20,000 to $30,000. We just want to raise enough money to make the payments more affordable. I have some money saved, but still have a long way to go.

Any help you can give me is super appreciated!!!

Love and Light to all of you!!!
Chip