Wow! I just finished reading all of the postings regarding the van, and I’m amazed! You guys were all pretty high on my list before hand, and now I see that you have all put much more time and effort in to this “project” than I ever even knew. I’m truly amazed at the incredible generosity in each of you as individuals, and as a group. We owe you all so much, and what you have done for our family will never be forgotten. With that said, I would like to say a few things in Dave’s behalf.

A little background: Before Dave got sick he was finally right where he wanted to be in his life. We had a house, a brand new truck, and more money than we needed to get by. Dave was always busy skateboarding or snowboarding. He had finally reached his goal of skating professionally, and had sponsors who sent him boxes of stuff every month. Then he started to fall from his skateboard, and suddenly couldn’t hold his hammer at work. Since then, every day something else has been taken away from him. Each day there’s something else he has to give up, something else he will never do again. Now, among many other things, it’s his ability to walk. Have you ever thought about what you might do day after day when you can’t really do anything at all? Well, Dave builds cars. He keeps his mind spinning everyday trying find ways to get things done without being able to do any of them himself. As a family, we all support him in this interest no matter what. For some of you, your car/projects are your hobby or passion. For Dave, now it’s his life. It’s what he gets up to do everyday, besides watching his children grow. All of you have helped to make this possible. All of you have helped him to be able to continue on with his projects, and give him some peace of mind.

When Dave first started talking to me about this club he was explaining why this guy, whom I had never heard of before, was coming over to our place to work on the 914. The first thing I thought was how much this was going to cost us. I couldn’t believe that somebody that barely even knew Dave would put so much time and effort into something when he wasn’t getting anything in return. Come to find out, there’s a lot more of you out there. There are too many names to name, and I don’t want to offend anyone by leaving theirs out.

In trying to get to my point in all of this- Dave and I greatly appreciate everything that all of you have done for us. We recognize that you have all sacrificed something for us. Whether your time, money, labor, knowledge or even just your patience. When Dave told me about what was happening with the van, and issues surrounding the van we were both pretty upset. First and foremost we both apologize immensely for making such a stupid mistake with the van. I admit, I was riding Dave’s ass a bit because we had watched so many come and go and hadn’t done anything. We never imagined this would happen, and until it did we didn’t think that we had done anything wrong. We made a mistake, and we both feel horrible. We have been deeply disturbed knowing that we let you all down in such a big way. This was supposed to be a positive experience for everyone involved, and now it’s become such a mess. We would do anything to fix it, but unfortunately all we can do is learn from our mistakes and move on. Please don’t mistake Dave’s eagerness and excitement for the van for a false sense of entitlement. We had been anticipating being able to do a few things this summer that we haven’t been able to do in while. Besides walks around our home, we haven’t been able to do anything as a family in a while. We realize that none of you have any fault in this. If anything, you all stepped in to change that and make it possible for us. Dave doesn’t always get the message to come across in the way he means it. For those of you who know him a little better, you probably understand a little better. Also, may I add, those of you who do consider Dave a friend please take into consideration that people suffering from ALS lose the ability to control their emotions. I’m sure some of you saw the smile that couldn’t be wiped off his face with the work party this weekend. Well, it works the opposite way as well. Hurtful things said go a long way in this house, so please consider this when dealing with heated issues. Enough said.

Again, it has been such a relief to have all of you helping us out the way you have. This was a very big battle for our family, and we thank you for fighting it for us.

Kori