A community effort has helped local Nathan McDowell regain his independence, with family, friends and volunteers working to get his written-off bus back on the road.
Nathan, a client of Kippa-Ring-based Holistic Horizons Support Services, lives with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), a rare genetic disease affecting the central nervous system.
Nathan’s dad, Gavin McDowell, said Nathan bought the bus back from the insurance company after it was written off, but repairs seemed out of reach when panel beaters could not source a replacement door. Gavin eventually bought the parts to repair it, including a back door, side panel, a starter motor and a tyre.
Family and friends volunteered to help rebuild the bus, including Nathan’s support worker Matthew and Matthew’s friend Gordon.
Overcoming Repair Setbacks and Restoring Freedom
“Gordon probably spent about 100 hours on (rebuilding) it and that was with his grandson and some other help from his men’s church group,” Gavin said. “It was a massive effort to get it back together.
“Gordon had to remove the damaged panels and door, fix the lift and reattach everything.
“But it took a couple of months to get it all sort of fixed up…but now she’s a goer and we can drive it again.”
Gavin said he was “just so overwhelmed with the amount of support”.
“Even putting the lift in the back of the van – five gentlemen showed up to give us a hand to pick it up and carry it,” he said.
“It means a lot. Nathan’s got his freedom back again.”
Nathan said he was surprised when people offered to help rebuild the bus.
“I thought it was great,” he said, adding that he felt “happy” and “excited” when he saw the finished bus.
Holistic Horizons support worker Matthew said Nathan had needed increasing assistance to transfer between his wheelchair and a vehicle as his upper-body strength and coordination declined, increasing the risk of injury to Nathan and his carers.
“This bus means Nathan can keep living life,” Matthew said. “It takes away the risks and gives Nathan the opportunity to go out with family and socialise in the community.
“Nathan’s quality of life has a direct impact on Nathan’s emotional and mental health. This bus is freedom for Nathan and the community of people who support Nathan.
“Even in the setbacks and the hard days, Nathan and his family have more than their fair share of those. They are some of the most resilient people I know.”
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