Stolen wheelchair van leaves Taupō man with few options for a road trip

Taupō man Bernard Cockery, 48, can't go on extended road trips anymore after his wheelchair van was stolen. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

Ted Cockery and his son Bernard like nothing better than a good road trip together.

But that has all changed in the past year, after the family’s wheelchair van was stolen. Bernard, 48, contracted pneumococcal spinal meningitis at 5 days old and can only get around in a wheelchair.

That hasn’t stopped him and his father from leaving their Taupō home for regular trips around the North Island.

However, the van was stolen 18 months ago while being serviced at a garage.

It was insured, but because it was 29 years old, the payout was only a few thousand dollars, and wouldn’t even cover the cost of a hoist. There have been no sightings of the van since it was taken.

“It was worth bugger all but it’s the principal of the thing. If it was an ordinary van I wouldn’t care but to go and flog it with his hoist – a hoist is about $15,000 to $20,000.”

He said they got a Lotto grant for the original hoist but have not been successful this time around.

Now, Ted and his wife Muriel are in their 70s, retired and with no spare cash to afford a suitable van.

“That’s the situation we are in. We are both retired now and I was thinking about going back to work but I can’t with my knee and it’s too hard on the wife,” Ted said.

They were relying on wheelchair taxis to get Bernard out and about, but while they were heavily subsidised, it still came at a cost and longer trips were out of the question.

Bernard enjoyed his outings with his dad and also needed the van so he could go to his respite care provider in Rotorua, which he enjoyed doing about twice a year.

“I used to go for rides with Dad and go to Napier or Fielding and Palmerston North. I was born in Palmerston North in 1976.”

Ted said they had also been trying to get Bernard into respite care in Taupō but the nearest they could find was Rotorua, and that cost about $300 for a taxi, one way.

As a result, the family is largely grounded, and longer trips away to places such as Napier and Tūrangi are out of the question.

Ted has worked out how to set up a Givealittle page, and was hoping crowdfunding might be the way to go. Anyone wanting to donate can head to the Givealittle website.

“We are both in our 70s now and it’s all a bit daunting trying to get social media pages for this type of support.

“The point is, that as a family, or even Bernard and I, we can’t do anything or go anywhere. Relying on taxis is just a joke.

“He’s been everywhere in his lifetime he has. I would just for the day, take him to Tūrangi and have lunch down there, make a day of it or go to Napier because he wants to have a look at the earthquake damage.”

While Bernard can’t move, his mind is sharp and he keeps up with current affairs.

“It’s the ride that he enjoys but he is pretty good on the politics, up to date on the news and all that stuff and what’s going on in the country.”

In the meantime, until he can get another set of wheels, Bernard would keep entertaining himself with a bit of sport on TV and some talkback radio.