The Mothership Has Landed

On Wednesday we took possession of our new van and I have to say that it was a bit emotional. I think it was the tangibility of it. Having the van in our driveway with Stacy’s license plates on it made it real. We will never be able to thank everyone enough who made this possible.

The Daily Herald newspaper wrote an article about our fundraiser in March and put it on the front page.

https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20140330/NEWS/140339957/

They want to do a follow-up article and sent over a photographer to take some pictures of us getting the van. Keep your eyes open for that article. We’ll put up a link to it on James’ Facebook page as well as on this blog as soon as it’s published.

This post won’t be filled with a lot of words, but instead will be full of pictures of our van, because that’s what you want to see, right?

Out with the old. We traded in Stacy’s 2008 Dodge Caliber when we bought the van. Notice the snowman antenna ball? We stupidly glued it on a couple of years ago and it wasn’t going to come off easily. Good luck to whoever has to try to get it off! Sorry!

 

Silver Dodge Caliber parked on a suburban street with alloy wheels, black side mirrors, and a roof rack, shown beside a grassy curb with houses, trees, and another vehicle in the background, capturing a clear view of the car’s exterior in a neighborhood setting.
We traded in Stacy’s Dodge Caliber

 

In with the new. Here we are walking out of the house to see the van for the first time. It’s a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan modified by BraunAbility. Because we had the opportunity to order it, we were able to choose the color we wanted. Stacy loves red, so the van had to be red.

 

Stacy and Jeff walking down a driveway toward their new red wheelchair accessible Dodge Grand Caravan, Stacy pushing James in his wheelchair while wearing a black “PROUD MOM 14” shirt and Jeff in a black shirt with green text, with houses, trees, and a grassy lawn in the background, capturing a casual moment in a suburban neighborhood.

 

Showing James his new mode of transportation.

 

Stacy and Jeff standing beside a red wheelchair accessible Dodge Grand Caravan minivan in a residential driveway with the side door open, Stacy holding onto a wheelchair with James inside, surrounded by green lawns, trees, and neighborhood homes, capturing an everyday family moment of loading or unloading the vehicle.

 

James seated in a specialized wheelchair on a driveway beside a red wheelchair accessible Dodge Grand Caraven with its ramp deployed, while Jeff and Stacy stand nearby adjusting the chair and observing, with trees and a house in the background, capturing a clear moment of adaptive transportation and mobility support.

 

Taking some pictures for the newspaper.

 

Jeff, James, and Stacy gathered in front of a red wheelchair accessible Dodge Grand Caravan with its wheelchair ramp extended, with James seated in a supportive wheelchair and Jeff and Stacy kneeling beside him as a photographer takes their picture, capturing an inclusive scene of adaptive transportation and family support in a residential driveway.

 

Jeff and Stacy standing close together in a driveway beside a red Dodge Grand Caravan, with James seated in a specialized wheelchair in front of them, surrounded by greenery and a beige house, capturing a family moment highlighting accessibility and supportive transportation.

 

Discussing the features of the van and how everything works with our awesome salesman from Mobility Works, whose name happens to be Steve Martin. Not kidding!

 

Red wheelchair accessible Dodge Grand Caravan parked in a driveway with its side door open and ramp extended, with Jeff standing beside the van, Stacy kneeling on the ramp, and a third seated just inside the van's doorway, surrounded by trees and a nearby house, capturing a clear moment of adaptive vehicle use and mobility support.

 

Stacy and another adult seated inside a red vehicle, with Stacy in the driver's seat and wearing a black shirt with bright yellow “PROUD MOM” text on the back and the passenger in glasses looking down, shown with the dashboard and steering wheel visible and greenery outside the windows, capturing a quiet moment of instruction or conversation inside the parked car.

 

We had Mobility Works install a jump seat behind the driver’s seat for James’ car seat. We’re not quite ready yet to put James in the van in his wheelchair. This jump seat folds up towards the door so it is out of the way and will allow space to get a wheelchair in and will allow someone to sit next to James so he can be suctioned during long car rides.

A special thank you to The Lexi Kazian Foundation – Helping From Heaven. We are finally able to use the car seat they bought for us. We think it will work really well for James.

 

Red‑and‑gray child car seat mounted on a black jumpseat in the back seat of a wheelchair accessible miniavan, securely fastened with a seat belt and additional hardware, with the surrounding interior clean and uncluttered, capturing a customized setup for safe and supportive transportation.

 

Stacy securing James into a red supportive car seat inside a vehicle, adjusting the harness straps to ensure proper positioning and safety, with the surrounding interior of the car visible during the careful setup.

 

Let’s go for a drive:

 

Stacy driving our new Dodge Grand Caravan with both hands on the steering wheel, focused on the road ahead, with the Dodge‑logo wheel and dashboard visible and a suburban neighborhood of houses, trees, and lawns seen through the window, capturing an everyday moment of travel.

 

James seated in a red‑and‑gray supportive car seat inside our new wheelchair accessible Dodge Grand Caravan, wearing an orange shirt and beige pants, with padded lateral supports and a harness system visible, and a suburban neighborhood of green lawns, trees, and houses seen through the window, capturing a safe and adaptive transportation setup.

 

Thank you again to everyone who made this possible. You will forever hold a special place in our hearts.