Lack of communication leaves Hopkinton couple searching for the right van for their disabled daughter

In a photo provided by the Concord Monitor, 8-year-old Lila Coe is smiling with an open mouth. She as light skin, dark hair pulled up into a bun, and a navy t-shirt.

“We are so incredibly grateful and thankful for our community. I’m hoping with this fundraiser, we can also advocate for system-wide changes and improvements.”

8-year-old Lila Coe is living with cerebral palsy. She is nonverbal with day-to-day health challenges that include seizure risks, developmental delays, and plenty of specialist visits and therapy needs to stay healthy.

Lila’s family has a 2018 vehicle that doesn’t meet the requirements for conversion to an accessible van – a fact they weren’t made aware of at the time of the purchase.

Right now, her family must physically maneuver Lila in and out of their vehicle manually, which poses safety risks to both her parents and Lila – risks that will only increase as she grows bigger and heavier with time.

While their state’s services will help with the cost of an accessible van purchase, Lila’s family will be left with a remainder to cover on their own.