Editor’s Note: There are many paths to success - some get there by leaping tall buildings in a single bound; some get there via unfortunate circumstances. Adnel Pena overcame a personal tragedy by converting negative feelings into a positive attitude…despite his situation, he is always smiling. Watch his story, below.

by John & Lourdes Pena
Our brother Adnel is an extraordinary person.  He’s the youngest of our brothers and we’ve always looked out for him. He played  bass guitar, drums and basketball. He was an honor student, loved to lift weights, and was physically fit. Obviously handsome and gifted, he had the world in front of him. He attended the University of Humacao in Puerto Rico, and one day before graduation… everything tragically changed.

The dreaded call came from the hospital.
The doctors said our brother had fractured his neck and his spinal cord had been cut in two.
They told us and our devastated family that he would never regain movement of his body.

HOW DID IT HAPPEN?
As we learned later, the accident happened while diving with a friend at the river. The impact of hitting the water at a certain angle snapped his spinal cord. His friend dove in after him and found Adnel at the bottom, paralyzed.

While in the hospital, the principal and much of the faculty came and performed a beautiful graduation ceremony, awarding him his diploma and honors.

After a while, he was transferred to another hospital and after several months, was able to come home.

Our parents were then soley responsible for his care and survival.

THE MOVE TO ORLANDO
But as their health began to deteriorate, Lourdes and her husband Freddie brought Adnel to Orlando seeking help, since Puerto Rico had limited resources to offer him at that time.

Against all odds, Adnel was accepted into The Center for Independent Living for Quadriplegics in Orlando.

Driven to become independent, Adnel graduated from the program early and found an apartment, where he lives presently and is able to function on his own.

He was also fortunate enough to receive a donated used van from a fellow quadriplegic. Which enabled him to be driven to church and doctor’s appointments.  It was truly a blessing.

However, this was about 9 years ago and the van is no longer in working condition.

His only transportation alternative is the Lynx Van-Pool service, which is rarely on time and causes him to miss doctor’s appointments. He’s often left waiting long hours.

This greatly alters his routine which is an essential  part of his daily life.

Having a functioning van is an absolute necessity, which is where you come in.

EVEN SUPERMAN NEEDS WHEELS
There are custom-built vans available that he could actually drive himself. As you can imagine they are pricy and we need your  help.  After much research we found a suitable van for $20,000 dollars.

Clearly we are unable to do this on our own and ask you to please consider helping us reach our $20,000.oo dollar objective and give adnel a fighting chance.

Please help Adnel achieve this goal by making a donation today.