The joys and sorrows that come with special needs parenting ebb and flow to other things in our lives. Take for example, cars. Now consider a wheelchair van.
I have had four wheelchair vans since Anna was 9 years old. That is four vans in 13 years. This is not so good. We never buy them new because the cost is outrageous. If you have ever had one the wear and tear can also be ridiculous.
Anna’s current van is a 2009 Town and Country van that is modified with a side lift. It was 22,000 and had 92,000 miles on it when we purchased it. The payment is 396 per month. This is what we must have to transport her. It makes the ins and outs of life easier for her and us. This is a high price for a van but you pay this, it’s just how it works. They are all high, and hard to come by when you need them the most.
Consider that our first van was generously given to us for whatever we could afford, ($1000 it was) and a big thank you because not lifting her anymore was a true delight. That van was driven into the ground. Our next van was a great van. We bought it when Paul was still working and it came from Florida, no rust, beautiful. Our community mental health agency paid for a commercial lift to go in in the back and it was a beauty. I almost died when I hit black ice coming onto the freeway (Anna was not with me) and I spun like a top with the engine in the front and the beautiful lift in the back. It was totaled. It was grossly under-insured due to a mishap online with coverage. But luckily we had some money to buy another used van. It was a big downgrade but at least we had a van. That van was hard to drive because the driver’s seat was raised. I had to have Paul but blocks on the pedals so I could reach. It was what we could afford and it did the work. Then it was driven into the ground and the minivan came into play.
You can see the struggles with these needed vans. So you can see that now with the nice minivan and the quickest ever getting her in and out we would want to conserve and cherish it. But how can we do this? If I take the van to work Paul is stuck and cannot take Anna out after school. If I take the smaller car then Paul has to use Anna’s van to drive anywhere and everywhere (16 miles to the gallon) he needs to go,. Which makes the van a daily driver and then wear and tear will happen. Not to mention the outrageous gas costs.
These are things that families that don’t have a child in a wheelchair really don’t think about. It’s not fun to think about and the money spent on these vehicles is horrible. There are families who can not afford the van they need so they are lifting their family member. Or worse, limit where they can go. They keep the person at home because transporting is a nightmare. It is not easy for families to maintain a good working van.
So we bought a new daily driver! Yes, let me introduce “Kermit.” He is green, he is fine and he is the new daily driver to save Anna’s van. It’s a Spark by Chevy and will get 38 miles to the gallon. It’s so cute I can hardly take my eyes off it. (Bought used, and will be paid off within a year). Anna gives us so many reasons to experience life in so many fun ways. Think outside the box if you can, and add things that seem different but fit your needs, your family, your special child. This is the Warrior Life!
