Hunter's Wheels: Your Support Matters

My name is Shawn Oswald, and we found our way here due to growing medical bills. Our son, Hunter, is 14 years old and was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at the young age of 4. If you don't know much about it, like I didn't when we found out, I can simply explain it like this: DMD is a muscle-wasting disease, and right now, there is no cure, and it will be terminal. That's the short and sweet, not sugar-coated side. At the age of 11, Hunter lost the ability to walk and has been wheelchair-bound since. He still has a very active life as he has a 9-year-old brother who he still plays tag and catch with, but the games just have to be adapted a little. There is not a room where Hunter goes that he doesn't brighten the mood. He is such a loving, caring, and sweet young man.

With that being said, the medical side of things is getting very expensive. Hunter was just approved and went through gene therapy a month ago to try and slow down this disease at a cost of $3.2 million. It is so crazy, the cost of anything to do with insurance... though we didn't have to pay for anything, we have to go to weekly appointments and blood draws for the next 2 months. He just received a brand new $40,000 wheelchair at the beginning of summer, and we had to cover the difference that the insurance didn't pay. Now, 2 years ago, we bought a used wheelchair van, a 2015, to be able to get us around as a family. It has now become time that we upgrade. We are here asking for $10,000 to help for a down payment as they require more of a down payment due to the valuation with lenders. The new wheelchair van costs $88,000 plus taxes and fees. I always tell people the most EXPENSIVE thing to be in America is handicapped/disabled. I am here asking for help to be able to provide a more reliable, dependable van for my family.