Oak Grove Elementary family fundraising to get van converted for wheelchair access

The Oak Grove Elementary family that has been seeking help in getting a wheelchair accessible van for their special needs child now has the van, but is seeking the funding to have it converted for the girl’s needs.

Using $3,500 raised through the GoFundMe page, Mary and John Barnett put a down payment on a used van that will allow them to transport the family of five along with 9-year-old Abby’s wheelchair.

Abby and her sister are the biological nieces to the Barnetts. Mary explained that the couple received permanent custody of the girls in 2011 after Mary’s brother decided he was unable to be a father to them.

Barnett explained that before the couple gained custody, Abby lived with her birthmother. However, she suffered a traumatic brain injury caused by “shaken baby syndrome,” at the hands of an unnamed male friend of the birthmother.

The family is continuing to fundraise in an effort to cover the cost of the $10,000 needed to convert the van with a wheelchair lift that will eliminate the need for Abby to be lifted into a seat.

Before getting the van, the family had a 2009 Chevrolet Suburban SUV.

While Abby will not advance beyond an infant stage, mentally, Mary explained that she is growing normally, meaning she will eventually be between five and six feet tall and weigh more than 100 pounds.

“It is absolutely wearing my body down,” Mary said noting that, because of John’s job as a school bus driver, she typically dropped off and pick up Abby each day at school.

“She will require care all of her life,” Mary said of Abby.

While the family is able to make payments on the van, Mary said that is not an option on the van conversion, meaning the money must be raised before the work will be done.

Donations may be made at the GoFundMe page, “Help Abby get a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

In addition, a checking account to accept donations has been established at Hometown Bank.

More information is available by contacting Mary Barnett on Facebook, on the GoFundMe page, or on the Abby’s Blessings Facebook page.