Overview
Our father, Robert, is currently battling stage III Hodgkins Lymphoma, and has been for several months. While the family always
tries to provide him with our support and love during these difficult and
uncertain times, we are hopeful that the generosity of others will allow us to
bring to reality a dream our father has had for years.
In the early 1980s, Robert purchased a 1965 Lotus Elan as a
project and, at that time, spent several months restoring it in preparation for
the vehicle to be driven on the street. Unfortunately, near the end of the
restoration, the challenges of being a father, husband, and student prevented
him from finishing the car. What began as a small hiatus stretched into a two
decade long break.
While Robert's plan was always to finish the car, various
aspects of life constantly prevented it from happening. And when his time was
free, he was always eager to help others with their projects, whether it was
teaching me rust-repair and bodywork on my first car, an '89 Volkswagen Golf
GTI, helping my brother rebuild countless engines, or even lending a hand to my
friends when they had automotive troubles.
Just when it started to look like time and resources would
allow our father to resume work on the Lotus and see his dream become a
reality, tragedy struck. The next two years would prove to be the toughest
chapter for him and our family. In early 2012 he was laid-off from his job
working in the automotive industry which delivered a damaging blow to our
family and our houseold. Then in the late summer of 2013, Robert was diagnosed
with stage III Hodgkins Lymphoma. He has undergone an excruciating number of
tests and procedures and completed 8/10 rounds of chemotherapy. Just as we
thought we could look to the future, the cancer stopped responding to the final
rounds of chemotherapy treatment and currently we sit in limbo waiting for more
biopsies, test results, and countless procedures.
Our Plan
What
we hope to do is generate enough funds to start buying parts to complete this
project. My brother and I are both full-time students and simply don't have the
income required to purchase all of the parts needed to get the Lotus back on
the road. We are, however, armed with the man power, know how, and
determination to complete our fathers project. This car means the world to him
and we want to be able to give this project an honest shot so he can finally
drive the car of his dreams.
Once
progress is underway, we plan on updating this page with entertaining and
fun-to-watch videos of our progress. Through the camera, we will bring you into
our garage and our family so you, as a contributor, can see your money hard at
work, restoring our fathers vintage racer.
The Impact
The
impact of this campaign is two-fold. It will give our family and friends the
opportunity to relieve stress, bond, and spend more time together. Also, if any
funds remain after the completion of this project, they will be put towards our
fathers medical bills.
