A Frankfort family can use community support to secure a wheelchair-accessible van for their 26-year-old son, who was left paralyzed from the shoulders down in a Texas traffic accident in December and is scheduled to return home June 6.
Cameron Rippy suffered a severe spinal cord injury on December 20 when he hit a loose patch of gravel while driving home from work in Texas. The accident left him a C4 incomplete paraplegic — paralyzed from the shoulders down — and set in motion a months-long rehabilitation journey that has taken his mother, Ashley Rippy, to Craig Hospital in Colorado, one of the nation’s leading centers for spinal and brain injury recovery.
“Cameron was in a serious car accident on December twentieth on his way home from work,” Ashley Rippy said during a recent interview on WILO’s Party Line program. “He had hit a loose patch of gravel, and that accident left him a paraplegic. He is paralyzed from his shoulders down.”
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Progress at Craig Hospital
Despite the severity of his injuries, Cameron has shown encouraging signs of recovery during his nearly six months of intensive rehabilitation.
“The left arm, the movement we’re getting out of it is tremendous,” Ashley Rippy said. “And his right arm — we just started getting that in the last week, so that was kind of a big surprise.”
As a C4 incomplete injury, Cameron retains some function below the injury site, and his care team continues to monitor daily changes. He has also regained enough arm strength with adaptive equipment to begin feeding himself independently — a milestone his mother described as remarkable given the timeline.
“With all the adaptive equipment, he’s been able to start feeding himself some,” she said. “It’s really amazing the things that they have available.”
Cameron is expected to return to Frankfort on June 6.
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City, Contractors Rally to Prepare the Way
While Cameron has been rehabilitating in Colorado, his family and the City of Frankfort have been quietly working to make the family home accessible before his return.
Ashley Rippy said her husband, Cody Rippy, met with city officials to coordinate the construction of a wheelchair ramp and sidewalk modifications at their residence.
“My husband and I had went and met with the city, and we’ve been working with Rob with the building inspection department and Tim Clark with ADA. They are working with Live Mobility, IMI, Campus Construction, the street department, building services, and Board of Works — they’ve all come together to make a ramp for him for when we get home,” she said. “They just completely amazed us.”
Tim Clark, who heads accessibility efforts for the city, was previously featured on WILO discussing mobility and accessibility resources in the community.
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The Van: The Remaining Obstacle
The most pressing unmet need is a wheelchair-accessible conversion van capable of transporting Cameron safely to ongoing medical appointments, including specialized physical therapy in the Indianapolis area.
Because of Cameron’s height and the dimensions of his power wheelchair, the family’s options are limited to just two vehicle configurations: a Chrysler Pacifica equipped with a BraunAbility XT extra-tall conversion, or a Toyota Sienna with a NorthStar conversion manufactured in 2020 or earlier — before the conversion specifications changed.
“We were going on Marketplace thinking, ‘Oh, this will be easy,’” Ashley Rippy said. “And it’s just not the case.”
Craig Hospital staff confirmed to the family that accessible-vehicle funding is one of the most difficult resources to obtain for patients with spinal cord injuries.
“There is such a need for them and such a lack of funding that it is very hard to get any kind of funding for vehicles,” Rippy said, relaying what hospital staff told her.
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How to Help
The Rippy family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for the van. The campaign, listed under Ashley Rippy’s name with the description “to help Cameron get an accessible van,” can be found HERE and is also linked on Ashley Rippy’s Facebook page.
Community members who want to help or need the direct link can also call WILO at 765-659-3338.
Ashley Rippy said that beyond financial assistance, the family’s greatest request is for prayer — and for neighbors to simply welcome Cameron when he is out in the community.
“When Cameron gets home and he’s out in the community, he would love for people to talk to him if they have questions,” she said. “He’s very outgoing.”
She added a broader message for the community: “Just love your family. You just never know. Everything can change at any moment.”
Cameron Rippy is expected to return to Frankfort on June 6. The family continues to accept donations toward an accessible conversion van through their GoFundMe page.
CLICK HERE to VIEW GoFundMe Page for Cameron Rippy.
