HUDSON — Christmas is arriving early for the Clanton family, the Pasco County couple raising four disabled children, including sisters from Ukraine.
Yvonne Clanton said she pulled up Wednesday to the Bonati Spine Institute on U.S. 19 in Hudson to find a silver-gray Kia minivan sporting a massive red bow. The vehicle came courtesy of back specialist Dr. Alfred Bonati, who saw a Bay News 9 report a few months ago about the Zephyrhills family's plight.
"It was almost overwhelming," said Yvonne Clanton, who arrived with her children in tow, including 10-year-old Selah who's confined to a wheelchair.
The family is hoping to remove two seats after the holidays to make the 2010 van wheelchair-accessible. Yvonne and her minister husband Jon Clanton currently own two vans — a 2012 Kia and a 15-year-old Dodge — but neither are wheelchair-ready, which makes loading and unloading Selah and her wheelchair a frustrating, difficult task.
"We are so grateful. This will really improve our lives," Yvonne Clanton said.
Clanton received the keys around 11:30 a.m. Several Bonati employees were on hand.
"It really brought tears to the eyes," spokeswoman Kimberly Bermel said.
The Clantons are raising the four children and have a 19-year-old son at home.
In addition to Selah, there's her sister, Sarah. Both were adopted from eastern Ukraine. Plus, there is a boy who's disabled, adopted from China, and another biological son who suffers eye problems. The family suffered a setback in 2012 when Selah fell into a canal in Rochester, N.Y. during a visit to an eye specialist.
She nearly drowned. She emerged from a coma, but suffered more profound disabilities. She can't talk or walk. She communicates by facial expressions or a slight nod of her head.
Clanton said she welcomes any help to make the family's days run smoother. Transportation can be especially tricky. The couple can't fit all their children, plus Selah's wheelchair, into one vehicle. So family excursions entail either multiple trips or having to put both vans into action.
The trouble is, the Dodge "is on its last legs," Clanton said.
The couple entered a contest this summer to try to win a new minivan, but narrowly missed out. Bay News 9 aired the story, which Bonati picked up on. The institute contacted the Clantons about a month later and started to make arrangements.
"We just wanted to try to make a difference to a family and a child very much in need," Bermel said.
Contact Rich Shopes at rshopes@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3368. Follow @richshopes.