On August 24th 2008, me and my family decided to spend a day on the beach. What we thought would be a fun, relaxing day turned out to be an event that changed our lives forever. I dove into a wave, hitting an unseen sandbar and breaking my neck, which immediately paralyzed me. I was pulled out of the water by people who noticed I was floating, unresponsive.

Before the accident, I was a main provider in the household, working as a CNC machine programmer and operator. Thanks to my boss, I was able to return to work on a part time basis in May of the next year. However, I could not work from home, which meant I had to be transported to work somehow. My Dad actually worked at the same company, so at first, he drove me to work every day in a regular car. It required me to transfer back and forth from a wheelchair multiple times. This went on for a while, until another man in a wheelchair was generous enough to give us old handicap van he no longer needed. Even though the number of transfers went down, I was still totally dependent on others to drive me. I wanted to get a vehicle I could drive myself.

When I learned how expensive accessible vans are, I was devastated. Luckily, there was a state program for people who needed transportation in order to re-enter the workforce. I quickly applied and received a significant amount of help in financing my vehicle. The whole process took a couple of months, but eventually I gained quite a big chunk of independence!

It felt like I had my freedom back. No more transfers, except when there was a problem and my van needed to be fixed. This vehicle was taking me and my family from point A to point B for 10 years; going to church every Sunday, going out to parks, driving my sons to school, it really became an integral part of our lives. Recently, part of the mechanism that secures my wheelchair broke, so I took the van to my mechanic. After the repair, I got back some terrible news: the entire floor of the van is practically destroyed. When my mechanic lifted up the carpet, in many places you can see straight down to the asphalt! He managed to reattach the broken piece, but warned me that it is a very temporary fix. From the outside, it looks like it’s still in decent condition, but underneath, it’s falling apart.

I haven’t been able to work since 2015 – I developed some blood clots in my legs and staying long hours in the wheelchair was not recommended by my doctor. This means I don’t qualify for the program I took advantage of before. I still want to stay active and I need a reliable vehicle for our typical family activities as well as volunteering at my local Parish. This is why I started this campaign through HelpHopeLive to finance my new vehicle. Ten years ago, the total cost was about $60,000, and today the cost will be even higher. Our current budget can’t handle such an expense, especially now that our younger son is a sophomore in college. I’m reaching to all good people to help us out… Times of pandemic are tough for everybody and we are even more grateful for any help…

Help Hope Live provides both tax-deductibility and fiscal accountability to contributors. Contributors can be sure that funds contributed will be used only to pay or reimburse medically-related expenses. For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800-642-8399.

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