This is One Happy Family!
Laura Calhoun, Development Director of the Albany Advocacy Resource Center in Albany, GA, rallied the community to help this family get a much needed wheelchair accessible vehicle. Joe Butler and staff at Quail Country Customs, Inc. worked tirelessly to complete the modifications to this vehicle, including a BraunAbility wheelchair lift and EZ Lock automatic wheelchair tiedowns.
Words cannot even express how thankful we are to have a wheelchair accessible van! I just want to shout from the highest mountaintop a great big THANK YOU to the National Organization for Vehicle Accessibility and to everyone involved from the donors to Joe Butler at Quail Country Customs. With our new van and lift, our lives have become richly blessed. We had reached a point where our lives became stalled because of the children’s sizes. Being teenagers and weighing as much as a full size adult, it was becoming too much to lift and transfer our children from their wheelchairs to the vehicle seats. I was afraid of injuring Tifton or Bethany by dropping or falling with them. Not to mention hurt or pulled back muscles for me and Scott because of lifting the kids or putting their heavy wheelchairs into the back of our old van. This became such a strenuous process that we started eliminating certain outings like visits to the zoo, park, and parties. As a mom, I was feeling so guilty because they should be able to enjoy these things like everyone else and I couldn’t continue to provide their recreation. Now, with the new lift, we can roll right into the van and to our destination!!!
I want to say a special thank you to Joe Butler for helping us find the perfect van for our family and modifying it to fit Bethany and Tifton’s special needs. With Joe’s special care and attention, I do not have to worry about the safety of the kids while I’m driving and can have my focus on the road. Thank you so much for your hard work!
With grateful hearts, we thank you for proving such a blessing as this grant to our family and others,
Scott, Dawn, Tifton and Bethany
Read more about their journey by clicking on a photo.