KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- 41 Action News has been checking in on 8-year-old Tishawn, the strong little girl fighting to recover after she was shot in the head at a playground behind her home.
Tishawn spends every day at Ability KC undergoing rehab. She’s progressing quickly, which is great news, but the last four months have been tough for her family.
We thought surely there’s something 41 Action News could do.
The journey
“I’m just thankful and blessed she’s here,” Latisha Slayden said, meeting with us outside of Ability KC.
Faith and family are keeping Slayden and Shawn Nelson strong for Tishawn.
The incident happened in late June.
Tishawn will be wheelchair-bound while she recovers, so it’s been a struggle for her family to find reliable transportation to and from the hospital and rehab.
They desperately wanted to move from their apartment to a safer neighborhood.
“No one has stepped up or stepped forward. Not even where I live,” Slayden said.
Meanwhile, little did they know, their luck was about to change.
The secret plan
41 Action News called up Desmound Logan with Cash Cars. He runs a used car lot but also donates vehicles to families in need.
Logan went to work immediately after hanging up the phone, and shortly after, called back and said he’d found a vehicle. It’s a used van but he took it to his mechanic to put some work into it.
“Basically all we had to do is put the hood and radiator in it,” Logan said when we met up with him at the car wash.
Logan took the van in for an inspection and drove it around for a few days. They fixed the hood, painted it, and vacuumed out the interior.
It’s just a little something to get the family from point A to point B.
“It feels good to give back,” Logan said.
The reveal
41 Action News asked Slayden’s family to meet with us on Friday for what they thought would be a follow-up interview. The Ability KC folks were in on the plan, wheeling Tishawn out on her lunch hour.
Slayden and Nelson had no idea what was about to happen.
The interview started out with basic questions, but once the white van pulled into the parking lot, it was time to reveal.
“What is that!” Slayden yelled, both hands on her face.
Learning the van was for her, the tears wouldn’t stop.
The family met Logan and checked out their new set of wheels.
“Now we can go out of town,” Nelson said to his daughter. “And there’s a TV in there!”
They can load up Tishawn’s wheelchair in the back stress-free.
“You see our new car? We got a car, Moo Moo!” Slayden said to Tishawn, who had a curious smile on her face the whole time.
It’s all for that little girl, who has fought more than any 8-year-old should.
“That is a blessing. Thank you. Thank you so much!” Slayden cried.
Logan and the family will work out the rest, but at least for now, maybe the family will have one less issue to worry about.
More good news – Tishawn will be out of rehab in December. The family is planning to move into a house next week.
If anyone in the community would like to help Tishawn and her family, contact reporter Sarah Plake at sarah.plake@kshb.com.
Extended coverage:
Parents of girl shot on playground speak out for first time
Little girl shot in head doing great, family still wants justice
Girl shot in head is home from hospital; family struggles to escape violent neighborhood
