Aiden Riley Taylor

Help Us Get a Wheelchair-Accessible Van for Our Son

On August 5, 2019, our family’s life changed forever.

My 7-year-old son and I were involved in a devastating car accident that left him with a C1-C2 spinal cord injury, resulting in paralysis from the neck down. Since the accident, he has required a ventilator 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

What followed was a journey we never could have imagined. We spent six long months in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities—from Pensacola, to Shands, and then to Philadelphia for rehabilitation. Over the past 6½ years, my son has endured seven surgeries, including major back surgery in November 2024 and a baclofen pump replacement in May 2026.

Through every surgery, every setback, and every challenge, he has continued to fight. He has overcome more at 13 years old than most people will face in a lifetime. Despite everything he has been through, he keeps going, keeps fighting, and keeps showing us what strength truly looks like.

Today, we are asking for help with something that would make an enormous difference in his everyday life: a wheelchair-accessible van.

My son now weighs over 100 pounds, and as he grows, it has become increasingly difficult—and physically unsafe—to lift him in and out of a regular vehicle. A wheelchair-accessible van would allow us to transport him safely and with much more dignity and independence.

He has frequent medical appointments and specialist visits, including trips between Panama City and Pensacola. Once a year, he also travels to Greenville, South Carolina, to see his spinal specialist from Shriners, who has been part of his care since his rehabilitation in Philadelphia.

These appointments are not optional—they are an important part of keeping him healthy and managing the many challenges that come with his spinal cord injury. Having a wheelchair-accessible van would make these necessary trips safer, easier, and far less physically demanding for both of us.

We are asking for your help to give him a safer way to get where he needs to go. Every donation, no matter the amount, brings us one step closer to reaching our goal. And if you are unable to donate, simply sharing our fundraiser with your friends, family, and community would mean more to us than you know.

After everything my son has endured, we want to make this next chapter a little easier for him.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to read our story, for supporting our family, for sharing our fundraiser, and for keeping our son in your thoughts and prayers.

God bless everyone who takes the time to help us on this journey. ❤️