ENCINITAS, Calif., Dec. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Dr. Phil stunned his unsuspecting guests, Jacob Wallis and Lucy Verde, with a new car during yesterday's Dr. Phil Show. The young couple appeared on the show through the efforts of Passion 4 K.I.D.S. Charity to share their heartbreaking story of how their 18-month-old son, Izaiah, was internally decapitated and permanently paralyzed by an illegal and uninsured teen driver who was both drunk and high when he lost control of his car, violently crashing into the baby who was on the sidewalk being wheeled in his stroller by his grandpa on the way to the park.
After discussing their $1 million plus medical bills and daily struggles for Izaiah's survival, Dr. Phil presented the couple with a brand new, top-of-the-line Acura Hybrid. In addition, he told how he was so saddened by this story that he was creating a page for Izaiah on the Dr. Phil Foundation website so that viewers around the world could contribute to help him at which point Dr. Phil kicked off the fundraising with a $10,000 contribution from the Dr. Phil Foundation.
Passion 4 K.I.D.S. has been helping Izaiah's family since the accident and reached out to the Dr. Phil Show in an effort to have the family share the consequences of drunk driving during this holiday season in particular. While on the show, Izaiah's parents spoke to the teen who paralyzed their son for the first time ever. Izaiah has severe brain damage, is paralyzed from the chest down, is on a ventilator with a feeding tube, tracheotomy and ilieostomy.
Contributions to Izaiah can be made at http://drphilfoundation.org/causes—-izaiah
To learn more about Izaiah's story visit http://passion4kids.org/meet_izaiah.html
About Passion 4 K.I.D.S.:
Passion 4 K.I.D.S. (Kids In Desperate Situations) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity dealing with handicapped, neglected, abandoned, abused and underprivileged children of any race, color and creed as well as children in acute, life-threatening, emergency situations in the United States.
These are the "forgotten" children whose young lives have been turned upside down that fall through the cracks with little or no insurance or government programs available to help them. Truly nothing brings us greater joy than to put a smile on their faces and try to lighten their load. Our help wears many faces, depending on each child's individual circumstances.
Our founders, Charles and Linda Van Kessler, have a passion for kids – their kids, other people's kids, kids that are hurting, kids that are "special" – any kid! That's why they created Passion 4 K.I.D.S. Charles' passion came from personal experience enduring an "upbringing" rivaling a movie script. Born in Amsterdam, Holland during World War II, he watched his Jewish father and grandparents be snatched away by the Nazis in front of him at age 2. His Catholic mom couldn't take care of him so he was placed in a state-run orphanage where he suffered abuse of every kind for 8 years and survived on eating flower bulbs until he could no longer take it and ran away at age 10 drifting all over Holland. He vowed one day to help children, like himself, who needed stability, love and someone to care.