Ricky’s wheelchair accessible needs

Hi, my name is Adrianna and I am raising funds for my son Ricky’s need for a wheelchair accessible van or modification to a van. Ricky was born with a cyst in his brain which wasn’t detected before or immediately after birth. His right eye was closed when he was born. Two weeks after he was born we started to notice episodes that we thought were gas, were possibly seizures. We took him to CHOA in Atlanta and that was where he went through testing and MRI’s to determine what was happening. He was having seizures since birth but the doctors did not detect anything except for the closed eye. It was determined that he had a cyst that developed in his brain early in my pregnancy and went undetected. The cyst caused his brain to not fully develop and the cyst also stopped his right eye from developing. Ricky was not given a definite prognosis at that time but what was certain is that he would have seizures for the rest of this life due to his condition. He is now 10 years old. Ricky’s challenges as a result of his condition are blindness due to cortical visual impairment where the brain does not process normal. His left eye looks normal but he does not see clear and is legally blind. He is non verbal and cannot follow any type of direction. He cannot eat solids or eat on his own, he cannot crawl or walk and will be in diapers for the rest of his life. Ricky is wheelchair bound and relies on the wheelchair or someone to carry him. He has several seizures a day without medication. He is on three different seizure medications to keep them under control. At age 3 he was diagnosed with the rarest form of epilepsy called Lennox-gastaut syndrome. His development is severely delayed and he doesn’t do more than an infant. Ricky has 4 other siblings and is a happy boy. He loves things that light up because he can see light, music and toys that vibrate.

As he has gotten older, it has become much more of a challenge to carry him and transfer him from one place to another safely, as well as lift his wheelchair into the back of the car. Unfortunately we are not in a position to get a wheelchair accessible vehicle and we are in desperate need of a safe way to transport Ricky. We have contacted all organizations that help with these things and nothing has been successful. Make-a-wish does not grant any type of vehicle or modification to a vehicle. That was my last resort but unfortunately they do not grant this type of wish. Currently we have an older van that is not wheelchair accessible that breaks down constantly and we just found out that the transmission is failing. We are raising funds for a van that is wheelchair accessible or a van that we can get modified, that will last for years to come as Ricky’s condition will never change and he will continue to grow. Any funds raised will

go toward a van for Ricky whether we meet the goal or not. If you would consider a donation we would appreciate it more than we could ever say! If you cannot help with funds then we would appreciate you sharing this! Thank you so much and if you have any questions please let us know! Thank you for reading our story