Christopher Jacques D. LeSueur

Family and friends of Christopher LeSueur are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with a catastrophic injury. Christopher has chosen to fundraise with Help Hope Live in part because donations are tax deductible for contributors and will only be used to cover medical and related expenses.

Christopher is 37 and, before two car accidents changed his life, he worked, drove, handled his own transportation, and lived much more independently.

Since those injuries, he has dealt with major mobility limitations, weakness, foot drop, recurrent falls, chronic pain, and now relies heavily on a power wheelchair. He still works to ambulate with a cane or assistance whenever it is safe because regaining as much independence as possible matters deeply to him.

One of his biggest goals now is driving again.

Christopher completed a formal driver rehabilitation evaluation, and there was good news: he can drive with adaptive equipment. The challenge is having a vehicle that can safely accommodate both him and his power wheelchair. He needs an accessible SUV with the proper conversion, wheelchair entry and securement, a transfer/swivel driver seat, hand controls, and other equipment recommended through driver rehabilitation.

This is not about wanting a luxury vehicle. Reliable accessible transportation would allow Christopher to get himself to medical appointments, therapy, housing appointments, errands, community activities, and the everyday places most people are able to reach without having to coordinate help every single time they leave home.

He is also trying to rebuild a future beyond medical appointments and disability paperwork. Christopher is working toward accessible housing, greater independence, and eventually becoming a dad. Being able to drive again would restore a major part of the freedom he had before his injuries.

The cost of purchasing and converting a wheelchair-accessible SUV is far beyond what Christopher can manage on disability income. Insurance and disability programs may assist with certain pieces of adaptive equipment, but they do not simply provide the accessible vehicle itself. That leaves a very large financial gap.

Funds raised through this campaign will help toward the purchase and accessibility conversion of a vehicle capable of safely transporting Christopher’s power wheelchair and allowing him to drive using the adaptive equipment recommended for him.

Christopher has spent a long time fighting just to obtain the medical care, equipment, housing, and services necessary to function safely.

This campaign is about something more: helping him get some of his life back.

The goal is simple:

Help Christopher drive himself again!