When eight-year-old Hunter Strunk was three months old, he was diagnosed with lissencephaly, or softening of the brain.
This very rare disease has approximately 500 known cases in the world and left 70-pound Hunter virtually immobile and uncommunicative; leaving his mother, Pam Strunk, with a huge challenge.
Strunk, an Addison Township resident, has been her son’s primary care giver since the day he was born and hasn’t had an easy road since; she’s been through a rough divorce, trying to sell her home and has had numerous obstacles in caring for her son.
The current problem is that Hunter needs a wheelchair lift for Strunk’s van. She said it is absolutely necessary for Hunter’s safety and for hers.
‘I’ve had a couple of times where I almost fell trying to put him in,? she said. ‘If I end up throwing my back out from lifting him in and out of the van, who’s going to take care of my son??
Thanks to Bill Fox Chevrolet in Rochester, Strunk will have an easy transition into a new Chevy Ventura capable of a wheelchair lift.
After numerous requests for fundraisers from the community, the Rochester Elks Club has also donated $2,000 towards the purchase of a lift for Hunter. Strunk said that every year, the Elks Club sets aside a certain allocated amount for special needs equipment. The Oxford American Legion also donated $1,000. The total cost for a lift is $16,200.
Strunk will also be receiving $8,000 from the state’s special needs fund to go directly towards the lift. $10,000 down, $6,200 to go.
Strunk is now in the process of trying to submit Hunter’s case to the Rainbow Network. If they decide Hunter is in fact terminally ill, he may be eligible for funds.
‘Is he terminal? Everyday I wonder if he’s going to be alive when I get up,? Strunk said.
Hunter suffers from seizures and also has a feeding tube inserted into his stomach, but Strunk said she has a lot of faith in the doctors and nurses who work with her and her son.
Another problem plaguing Strunk is the inability to work full-time.
‘Finding someone to help care for him and who’s not going to take my whole paycheck is hard,? she said.
Strunk has been teaming up with the Macomb Oakland Reginal Center since February to find some help, but she said no one wants to drive out to Addison Township.
Strunk works part-time for Oxford School’s with the pre-primary impaired special needs children at Daniel Axford Elementary. When Hunter’s not at the Wing Lake Developmental Center in Bloomfield Hills, she is overwhelmed with her duties.
‘He’s a full-time job, 24/7 and not everybody believes that,? she said.
Strunk knows she’s not the only mother in the area with a disabled child, but she gets so frustrated when people in the community say they’ll help or that they wish they could do something.
‘What I really want is for people to be aware,? she said. ‘There’s no manual for us parents. We have to learn stuff on our own.?