Full story is below the TLDR

TLDR - bc respect your time. I am an RN that sees patients in their home for things such as wound care. I’ve been providing wound care services to a happy, always positive 50-year-old patient that lives alone. I’ve seen him 2-3 times a week for over a year. He requires dialysis 3 times weekly, is wheelchair-bound, has had his right leg amputated in the past, and has had a chronic wound on his left foot for the last 12 years. He really could use some help. I’m creating this as a way to hopefully finance or accept a donated vehicle (new or used) that is wheelchair accessible with adaptive modifications (van with wheelchair transfer equipment/or ramp + adaptive equipment that allows the vehicle to be completely operational using only one’s upper extremities). Neither Dejean “DJ”, or my agency, have the financial means to come remotely close to making this happen on our own. This vehicle will allow Dejean to drive himself to dialysis sessions and wound care clinic appointments multiple times weekly. He currently has no working vehicle and is often not able to get to these appointments. He has very little in terms of immediate family and assistance. These hardships have had a significant, detrimental impact on his overall health and his ability to physically/logistically get to his healthcare related appointments. ANY donation and/or assistance to circulate this post is truly appreciated. ALL proceeds and donations will be distributed to Dejean. Thank you!

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The Full Story

Hello!

My name is Alex, and I am an RN that services local patients in the parish (or county, for those outside Louisiana) that I reside in. A large majority of what I do for my patients consists of wound care services within the patient’s home. The patients that I see on a daily basis are often people that have difficulty getting to their healthcare appointments, clinics, dialysis, etc. Or, in other words, it is considerably taxing on them physically, logistically, and/or financially, to leave their home. With my introduction out of the way, I’d like to introduce an individual that I have been providing wound care for 3 times a week in their home for 1-2 years. He is aware of this post and has provided my agency with a signed, formal letter of consent stating he is okay with me doing so, for the sake of HIPAA compliance.

His name is Dejean “DJ”. Despite his hardships and taxing health conditions, Dejean has always been a “glass half full” kind of guy. Dejean is 50 years old and lives alone in the home his parents once resided in. Dejean’s parents are now deceased, and he does not have much in terms of both immediate or extended family. He has an aunt (that’s who is in the pictures with Dejean) that lives ~20-30 minutes from him and is able to assist with some of his transportation needs / ADLs (activities of daily living - such as cooking, cleaning, hygiene, getting to and from places, etc. Basically anything people do on a daily basis or frequently). His aunt is also elderly, and it is, and will eventually become more, difficult for her to provide assistance to Dejean as she ages.

Dejean is currently wheelchair-bound due to a wound many years ago that resulted in his left leg being amputated below the knee. Dejean has been dealing with a chronic wound on the bottom of his right foot for 12 years now. I have been providing wound care for this wound for the last 1-2 years. Dejean sees a wound care doctor every 2 weeks for routine follow-ups. He is also in renal failure and is dialyzed 3 times weekly at a dialysis clinic ~30 minutes from his home. Along with other routine appointments, all of this would be extremely taxing on any human being. Try to put yourself in his place. On top of everything I just mentioned, he doesn’t have a working vehicle. In recent years, he did have a working car that he was able to manage getting into and out of, with difficulty, to drive himself to appointments. His car unfortunately has not been in working order for some time now. Dejean cannot afford to have it repaired, much less consider purchasing what he honestly needs (a wheelchair-accessible vehicle). Despite his logistic and financial hardships, Dejean remains positive. That is why I want to help him.

I visited a local dealership that specializes in wheelchair-accessible vehicles with adaptive modifications. Specifically, these modifications would allow Dejean to get to and from his appointments safely while also providing mechanical assistance getting into the vehicle, while driving, and exiting the vehicle. Something like this “new” would be a massive financial stretch (to put it lightly) for most people, at around $90-100K. The specialist at the dealership told me that for around $45-50K, Dejean would be able to acquire a used/refurbished wheelchair-accessible vehicle that would be completely drivable using only one’s upper extremities. Meaning, the modifications would allow Dejean to control the accelerator and brakes with only the use of his hands. The vehicle would have modifications near the sliding (van) doors that can provide the assistance required to get into the vehicle while still in his wheelchair, and then assist him to transfer from the wheelchair to the driver’s seat (as well as doing this in “reverse” allowing him to get from the driver’s seat to outside the vehicle with his wheelchair). With the financial goal we've selected, this would also allow for Dejean to have a small amount be set aside for maintenance, fees, etc.

This vehicle would allow Dejean to do things that many of us take for granted. Simple things, such as being able to get to our local grocery store safely, purchase our groceries, and return home. This is just one example of something that has always been difficult for Dejean to do even when he had a working car, but he made it work despite having to load and unload his wheelchair himself, and getting into/out of the driver’s seat without assistance. Dejean currently relies solely on the assistance from his aunt multiple times a week just to get to and from dialysis and the wound care clinic. As difficult as it is for Dejean, he always remains optimistic and positive, maintaining an upbeat attitude.

Any donation, regardless of how big or small, will help Dejean. He is aware of my efforts to post this and hopefully allow him to get the help he desperately needs to prevent further health related complications. Dejean also understands that our goal may take a long time to fulfill. ALL proceeds and donations will be distributed to Dejean once our goal is met. Both he and I have faith in the internet, and the good people out there that truly want to help people. I thank you for your time spent reading my wall of text if you’ve made it this far. If you or someone you know would like to learn more about Dejean’s situation, or have any questions/suggestions about what else can be done on my end to help him, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to converse about anything that could potentially help us reach our goal.

Thank you!

-Alex