My New Wheels!
My last blog post focused on transportation challenges many individuals with disabilities face. Last week, my transportation story has a happy ending, because of the generosity of the Maciejewski Family. I have new wheels! I wanted to tell the story about how this dream became a reality.
Quick Recap
My van lift died in the winter of 2015, leaving Randy (my caregiver) and myself stranded after watching a Christmas Parade. It took a team of friends and several hours to get me home. Unfortunately, I ended up getting very sick as a result.
My parents helped me out and the lift was repaired. A group of incredible people came together and held a fund raiser for me. My friends, family and community members gathered at Trails End Lodge in February of 2016 to raise money for a new set of wheels for me. The hard work of so many raised enough money for a van, but we still needed funding for the modifications.
I was able to use my old van until February of this year. My mom and I relied on other transportation while we waited for funding through DWD. We would not receive word on the funding until late July. So we made do with the options we had. Now enter in the Maciejewski Family,,,
The keys are mine!
The Maciejewski Family
A few weeks ago a member of the Maciejewski, contacted me. She had read the blog post about my visit to the Wausau Police Department. She had also read about my transportation challenges and could relate to my issues because her father was also a wheelchair user. Sadly, he passed away recently and she was selling his vehicle.
Unfortunately, the price was significantly more than what we could afford. A few days later, she reached out to my mom. After discussing the situation with her siblings, the family decided to drastically reduce the price to the amount we had! The Maciejewski family wanted to honor the memory of their dad with this kind and generous act. He was a deacon of his church and would have wanted his vehicle to be put to good use.
I love sitting in the front!
This was a total surprise to me, as I was at camp! My mom arranged with the Maciejewski family to surprise me with the vehicle when I returned from camp! I took it for a test ride and knew this was the car for me! I loved it!
There are so many things I love about my new set of wheels. The color is perfect, Brewer’s blue! Sitting in the passenger seat allows me to see everything! My mom and I can have a conversation while driving around. I can even make and receive phone calls hands free!
Most of all, I will never forget the generosity of the Maciejewski family. I will honor the memory of their father by using this vehicle to continue to spread awareness of life as an individual with a disability. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the Maciejewski Family and everyone who supported me through this challenge! The wonderful power of community is awesome!
Until next time, Keep Rollin’ and Keep Smilin’
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