Despite a mom's grief over her disabled son's death, she found a way to help others

Itza Pantoja, originally from Puerto Rico, channeled grief over her disabled son Dylan Yadriel Cruz-Pantoja's death by donating his medical equipment.

DALLAS — After Itza Pantoja’s severely disabled son died at age 16, she made it her mission to ensure that the wheelchairs, beds and other equipment and supplies that had helped him would get to others in need.

Pantoja’s lengthy struggle to find an organization that would take the large donation ended when she got word that a group in Chicago was interested. So she and her family packed up a U-Haul and drove the 1,240 miles (1,995 kilometers) from San Antonio to drop it off.

“It kind of soothes us because other families that are going through what we went through kind of have a helping hand,” Pantoja said.

The mother’s effort highlighted not only how hard it can be to get such equipment — even with insurance — but also the difficulty that can be encountered when trying to donate it. The journey also shows the community built around not only need, but a desire to help.

The head of the at-home care company that took the donation, ASI/NE Healthcare Services, said that just seeing the number of items that Dylan Yadriel Cruz-Pantoja needed made her emotional.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/moms-grief-disabled-sons-death-found-way-help-others-rcna47261

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