CHULA VISTA, Calif. — When a person is wheelchair bound, a mobility van is their lifeline to transportation. In this Zevely Zone, we are asking for your help with a fundraiser in Chula Vista.
Some stories make your blood boil, and this is one of them, Tom Lukasiewitz has been through way too much as a human being to be a victim of theft. A few weeks ago, we introduced you to Tom, a father and husband battling a rare muscle disease called Inclusion Body Myositis. "All of a sudden I just started feeling weaker, things just didn't add up and all of a sudden I just falling out of the blue, my leg would give, and I'd say what's going on," said Tom.
After the 51-year-old father's home caught on fire, the community rallied and helped him out with a free remodel. Just when Tom was flying high, thieves in the middle of the night targeted his mobility van. "Someone took my catalytic converter, stole it, cut it off and that was it. What do I do now? I can't drive it. I can't go nowhere," said Tom.
When I started Tom's van, not only was the engine really noisy but the smell of exhaust was strong. Without the van, Tom's missed four medical appointments and couldn't attend his mother's Easter Brunch.
Tom was too proud to contact us after his free home remodel, it was his mom who reached out and told us he needed some help.
Because of his partial paralysis, Tom can't work, and a mountain of medical bills prevented him from having comprehensive insurance. Tom is well aware that catalytic converters are stolen but he can't park his mobility van in his garage because the vehicle is too big. Because of the remodel and construction vehicles parked in his driveway, Tom had to park his van on the street which is where the thieves struck.
Tom's friends have set up a GoFundMe page hoping to raise $3,500, but by some estimates, because this is a mobility van, it may cost $6,000 to fix. If extra donations come in, Tom wants to install a security light and camera on his house. If he gets a new catalytic converter, he wants to have it stamped with his VIN number.
To the crooks, Tom has this to say. "It's bad enough I have this muscle disease, but you took my ability to get to places that I need to go, and it just hurts, it just frustrates me and to know that someone that is in medical need and stuff that need a van like this to get anywhere and you took it from me, so I am really not happy," said Tom. "It's too much handle you know?"
Come on San Diego, let's make this better!! If you'd like to help Tom, you make a donation to the GoFundMe page by clicking here.
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