Wheelchair Van for Andrew (passenger van)
My fiancé Andrew has Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy. He has to use a power wheelchair to achieve mobility and has to use a power wheelchair to be able to get from point A to point B. He is unable to transfer into a normal car unless it has ramp access and is unable to use a normal manual chair due to support needed
Today our car broke down and he was stuck inside the van. We called the dealers, tow trucks, etc desperate for someone to give us a ride and ignorant people kept telling us to go take an Uber. Well, my friends, people who use power wheelchairs cannot use ubers. Having a car break down is frustrating for anyone but an able bodied person can call a taxi, Uber or rent any old car to be able to have a solution to continue their lives. If you’re a wheelchair user you are stuck. I found myself sobbing in tears in frustration at the lack of accessibility and especially for the lack of care, compassion or empathy from many companies today who refused to assist even the fire dept had to come all because companies refused to assist.
I would love to get a passenger wheelchair van so that I am able to help my fiancé and our future family get from point a to point b if he needs anything or ever gets stuck. I am just looking for something that is used and has a manual ramp that can manually deploy rather than rely on electronics. Also , I would make sure all my friends or community members of Charleston who are wheelchair users have my phone number so that if they ever get stranded they have someone to call to assist in some way. After today I would be there in a heart beat because I never want anyone to feel the way that we did.
I hate doing things like this and maybe it’s just the emotions of today getting the best of me and the upset of the situation today but my fiancé deserves the independence and opportunities that anyone else gets. Edit: some have asked for our venmo so we receive all the money rather than part going to a fee. Our venmo is @blairchristie Anything left over after buying the van will be used for wheelchair house accommodations and for gas when the community needs help with wheelchair pick up