Community rallies behind disabled boy to get wheelchair-accessible van

A Blacktown family has been given a new lease on life after the community and local business rallied behind them to get a new wheelchair-accessible van for their disabled 10 year old.

Ten-year-old Finn, who has cerebral palsy and mum, Tracey Reynolds, have been given a new lease on life after the community and a business rallied behind them to buy a new wheelchair-accessible van. Picture: Angelo Velardo

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A Blacktown family has been given a life-changing break thanks to the generosity of the community and a business.

For 18 months single mother of five Tracey Reynolds had to carry her severely disabled son in her arms to medical appointments after a relationship breakdown left her without the family’s wheelchair-modified van.

Transporting Finn, 10, who suffers from cerebral palsy, became a logistical nightmare with no room for a wheelchair in their small hatchback car.

Blacktown siblings Annabelle, Amelia, and Jack with mum Tracey Reynolds and brother Finn with their new van at Heartland Holden in Blacktown. Picture: Angelo Velardo

Everyday tasks, such as taking Finn and his siblings to school, became impossible.

They were forced to rely on a disability taxi, at a cost of $80 a trip.

Ms Reynolds said her family became trapped in their home.

“If we wanted [Finn] in his wheelchair, we had to walk everywhere. Otherwise, I had to carry him,” she said.

“To hold him, it is like a sack of potatoes, a dead weight.”

Getting Finn to vital appointments involved Ms Reynolds carrying her son for a 10-minute walk from the hospital carpark.

“I ended up borrowing a pram from the hospital loan pool. Then I had to wrap neoprene wetsuit material around the back of him to keep him in posturally, because there were no straps,” she said.

“The pram wasn’t specialised for disability, so for Finn to sit in that chair or for me to carry him — you don’t want to think of what damage that has done. But it was unavoidable.”

Heartland Holden Blacktown’s Geoff Orsborn and Sam Esho with 10-year-old Finn, mum Tracey Reynolds and their new, wheelchair-accessible van. Picture: Angelo Velardo

After more than a year of struggles and car loan knock-backs, Ms Reynolds scraped together the remaining funds in her super account, loaded her family into the car, and approached Heartland Holden in Blacktown.

With $22,000 from her super and $3000 from a GoFundMe appeal, Ms Reynolds said the van her family desperately needed was still several thousand dollars out of reach.

“I came into the office, spoke to the guys and described how the NDIS works and our situation and what we needed to do,” she said.

“I heard one of the men say, ‘This lady needs a break. What can we do?’

“They said $25,000, even though it was advertised for $27,800, and told us ‘Happy Australia Day’.

“They made it possible; there was a sliver of hope.

“They looked at it from a human point of view and made it possible for us to be mobile.”

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One month after getting the van, the family has been able to resume a normal life.

“Having a van has meant I can get his manual wheelchair into the boot, so Finn can now travel and we can go take him to the shops or wherever we want to go.

“It gives us a feeling of independence and we’re not being trapped and are able to live how we want to live and go where we want to go.”

Heartland Holden used car manager Sam Esho said it was impossible to ignore Ms Reynolds’ plea.

“When she came into the yard one day and told me her circumstances, we thought we had to do something to help her out,” Mr Esho said.

“If we can’t help someone in need — it was the least we could do.”