Everyone who knows me, knows at Christmas time I play Santa. Christmas 2020, I was asked if I could play Santa for a family with Special Needs children at their house due to Covid not allowing them to make it out anywhere. Unknowingly to me, that little Santa trip changed my life for the better in so many ways.

The family is nothing short of amazing! They welcomed me with open arms and made me feel loved from the time I stepped foot in their home. One of their kids made a connection with me that goes beyond words…his name is Brian. Brian is an inquisitive, fun-loving teenage boy who loves to tell you what’s on his mind. Brian is now my little brother, who gets excited when he knows I’m coming to visit and greets me with a smile from ear to ear when I walk in. He tells me he loves me randomly through our conversations and never holds back when he has something to say! There are no words to express the love I have for my little brother. People are always telling me “You can see the love that little boy has for you when he looks at you”

Brian is just one of the precious kids in this household…there are five of them currently under their Mother Jean and Father John’s care. Jean and John foster and eventually adopt these beautiful kids to give them the love and the care they need and deserve. They have nurses that assist them during the day, which are amazing people as well!! At the end of the day when the nurses go home, it’s up to Jean and John to tend to their kids’ medical needs, even if that means they are staying up all night, because that’s when the kids decide they want to be up…. but Jean and John wouldn’t trade it for the world. They love these kids more than life itself!

Now is where I tell you why I’m writing this story…you see, they live in Lancaster, Pa. and the house they live in, while is a loving comfortable home, it sits on a hill with the only access being steps up through the back of the house. A few of the kids are unable to move on their own and utilize a wheelchair to get around. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that wheelchairs and steps don’t work well together. Recently, my little brother Brian had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance to save his life. Brian has a trache, and he got sick causing him to have issues with his breathing. The ambulance crew had to get a teenage boy down to the ambulance while the nurses were administering CPR…all while trying to get down the steps. Fortunately, they made it in time to save my little brothers life. This happened twice in 3 weeks, so as I’m sure you know, the stress levels were high for the nurses and family.

Minutes count with trying to save anyone’s life, but with these kids, sometimes even minutes is too long. It started to eat at me, I had to do something, anything I can do to give these beautiful kids a fighting chance, I just have to do it! So, I reached out to a few good people and asked them to join me in my new adventure. I want to get a vertical elevator installed on the property to eliminate them having to use the steps to get my new brothers and sisters to the ambulance or doctor visits and even the fun things like going to the park for the day so they can enjoy the outdoors. Installing a vertical lift elevator will allow them to get the wheelchair down safely and quickly when seconds count.

A few amazing people met up with me to get the project in motion… Mike Carlini of Butler Mobility, Jon Wile of Wile Plumbing and Dave Fitzgerald of Dave Fitzgerald Carpentry decided to become part of the solution and I couldn’t be more thankful for them! They saw my vision and the wheels started turning, yeah, WE CAN DO THIS! We have our work cut out for us with zoning, permits and the sort…but now I’m asking for you to help me if you could. If you can find it in your heart to give these kids and family the access, they need to their home that could mean life and death, we would be forever grateful. Any amount helps!! Even if you can’t financially help at this time, PLEASE spread the word, and share this…that would be HUGE!!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for sharing!!

Elevate A Family in Need!

By Michael Weiler

Elevate A Family in Need!

Fundraiser to install a vertical lift elevator for Special Needs kids

Team Members