Karla Prinsen needs a wheelchair van after falls

Karla’s Parkinson’s has progressed and she has been falling a lot lately so has been using a wheelchair more frequently. We are thankful for wonderful neighbors as a couple of those falls had Karla calling them as she was unable to get up on her own and I was across town. We’ve thought about purchasing a wheelchair van but have been putting it off as it is a big step emotionally and financially. Well, this time Karla fell hard and will need shoulder surgery to repair the damage. That pushes up our timeline, so we are purchasing a van and, potentially, a motorized wheelchair (she will not be able to use her arms to propel herself when I’m not home).

We thank you for your help throughout our journey whether you’ve helped us care for our children, shared a meal at our house or yours, prayed with and for us, included us in your reindeer games aka racing, vacations, gardening, Bible study, or even hunting (Karla shot a deer two years ago!).

So, now we are asking for your help in a different way. It feels quite strange, but we are setting up a go fund me account so you can help us with these purchases if you like. No pressure. Our cost will be somewhere around $50,000.

For those less familiar with our story, this all started in April of 2006 when Karla suffered a brain aneurysm. By November, she had tremors and was eventually diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Since then, we’ve lived by the motto of “Do what we can, while we can.” We’ve gone through many phases of living this out. Parkinson’s is a chronic, progressive disease and requires another shift. This is a link to a column I wrote to describe what going through this process has been like. https://www.thebanner.org/columns/2019/02/the-slow-thief Throughout it all, Karla has kept her smile and her spirit.

Blessings,

Karla and Tom