Family of Jacob Anstey regifts donated wheelchair accessible van on his birthday

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The household of Jacob Anstey is donating a wheelchair accessible van — primitively fixed to them past twelvemonth — to different household successful request to honour the representation of the young lad connected what would person been his 12th birthday.

Jacob Anstey died successful November aft agelong conflict with bosom issues

Jenna Head · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 05, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Family photograph successful beforehand of ample van. Two women hug successful the middle

Jacob died successful November aft battling bosom issues that stemmed from a cardiac arrest. His van was donated to his family by Get Messy N.L. and Bursey's Bus Service aft his mother, Lisa Loveless-Hodder, spoke retired astir the challenges of uncovering accessible transportation.

"We person a batch of bully memories successful that van. There was a batch of singalongs and laughs and fart jokes," Loveless-Hodder said Friday.

"What Jake would privation is to springiness [the van] to different kid who tin person the state that helium got from the van."

The van, called Chewie for Jacob's emotion of Star Wars, was talented to Sabrina Reid and her six-year-old girl Avery connected Friday greeting astatine Get Messy N.L.

WATCH | The keys to 'Chewie' unlock much than a van:

Family of Jake Anstey donates his accessible van to different household successful need

On the time Jake Anstey would person turned 12, his household gave a large acquisition to different kid successful need. Anstey’s household handed implicit the keys to ‘Chewie,’ a wheelchair accessible van that was donated to Jake conscionable past year.

The concern hosted a Star Wars-themed day enactment for Jake to observe his representation and manus implicit the van's keys.

"She's present yours with Jake's heart," Loveless-Hodder said.

A kid successful a wheelchair sits wrong wheelchair van.

Reid's girl has terrible spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Reid's says the van is going to alteration her family's life.

"It's similar we won the lottery," she said. "I can't instrumentality her galore places connected my ain anymore. So now I deliberation that it volition springiness america the state to spell wherever we privation to go."

Reid says she already has plans, including registering her girl for courses astatine Rainbow Riders.

But first, they're going connected a household outing with her step-sisters.

Young pistillate with agelong brownish hair

"We're going to Dairy Queen. That's going to beryllium our archetypal stop," Reid said.

While Reid's household enjoys crystal cream, Jacob's family plans to excavation into his day cake, knowing his bosom brought a assemblage together.

"We decorated our location similar we would person done if helium was inactive physically with us, but this was similar the eventual mode to truly springiness backmost connected Jake's birthday," Loveless-Hodder said.

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