Editor,

I read with delight how the Bondesons were able to get a van with the support of the community. This is amazing.

We also faced the same dilemma when our son could no longer walk at the age of 10 due to Muscular Dystrophy. He is 19 now. My husband and I carried him and placed him in our car and threw a manual wheelchair into the trunk. He became very heavy where I could no longer take him anywhere alone.

After two years of doing this, we got a small pickup and my husband built ramps to get my son’s new electric wheelchair into the back of the pickup (just like the Beverly Hillbillies with a tarp when it rained). After two years of this, a friend had an older van they called and wanted to give us first offer.

I tried to secure a small loan for $6,500 as it had 95,000 miles on it when my family got together and collected the money. We wrote many thank you’s and were very humbled by that. We now have a new van (26,000 miles) which we bought from a friend whose son passed away and she was afraid she may be stuck with it. You see, nobody usually finances a conversion van for more than six years (at 10 years, we are paying almost $500 per month…you know it will not last that long). She had to sell it back to the dealer and we had to then buy it and go with the finance company the dealer uses (even though we have excellent credit) who handles these vans. I received two thick payment books in the mail representing 10 years of payments.

The conversion which allows my son to drive in from a back entrance with a lowered floor and tie downs actually costs $18,000 and the total cost of the van was $17,000. You do the math. These are a real luxury… but try to take your kid to the hospital or doctor and rely on public transportation (which does not exist in Standish). These are a medical necessity. I have often thought to offer rides to those with disabilities as a way to finance a van. Here is a big chuckle for you…After my first payment, I received a nice letter from the bank who financed us. It stated, “Congratulations on the purchase of your new recreational vehicle (RV).”

Of course, I know we haven’t gotten much recreation with it as it is mostly used for my son… but it has been to OZZFEST. Best wishes to the Bondeson family.

Sincerely,

Suzan Norton

Standish