‘We can’t do it alone anymore’ — family seeks support for wheelchair vehicle – CFN
September 14, 2022
Angel and Joe Turner are hardworking and loving parents to their six children. Angel is from the Gitga’at Nation (Hartley Bay) and Joe is from Kahkewistahaw First Nation. The family currently lives in Abbotsford. Four of their kids are under six years old, their oldest is 12.
They have recently reached a point where they are asking for help to provide the care their family and especially their boy Joe Jr. desperately needs.
Joe Jr., who’s five years old, has cerebral palsy, two seizure disorders, high tone and dystonia (disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions that cause slow repetitive movements or abnormal postures). He’s unable to move or speak. Most mornings, the house wakes up to Joe Jr. crying, Angel says, before she goes to take out his feeding tube and give him his medications.
“Some days are harder than others,” she says. Things have been more difficult after one of the family’s vehicles recently broke down. Now they’re down to one vehicle that isn’t made for a wheelchair, causing extra stress to the family who has been doing their best to make it by.
