‘They’ve been transporting him’: Abilene family shocked by denial of transport for vital care

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – A transportation service that once helped an Abilene family get to lifesaving medical appointments is no longer an option, leaving them with many questions. The family says they’ve relied on the service for years without issue and are now speaking out, hoping to learn why this sudden change happened.

Jonathan Williams, known as JJ, was injured as a child during a fight, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury that affects his muscle mobility and renders him nonverbal. Every six weeks, he must travel to Granbury—a two-hour drive from Abilene—for a lifesaving procedure to replace his Baclofen pump.

The family has relied on free transportation through City and Rural Rides, or “CARR,” but before Williams’ most recent appointment, they were told the vehicle could no longer accommodate him. His nurse, Jennifer Dinius, described the morning they were denied as stressful.

“That appointment was very, very important. Because if his pump runs dry, he can end up having major withdrawals, which could end up killing him,” Dinius said. “They were talking about his chair being too long and him kind of laying down. So, I set him up about two inches, and they were still like, ‘Well, we can’t take them because he’s just not sitting up, and his chair is too long, his feet hang off.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, this is how he sits.”

CARR provided a statement to KTAB/KRBC explaining that Williams’ wheelchair was classified as a stretcher, not a standard wheelchair, per his medical records.

“The client utilizes transportation services through his health plan. The health plan is responsible for documenting each client’s information accurately, such as the level of service clients require. The medical transportation program broker is then responsible for assigning trips to transportation providers, based upon the level of service the client’s need, and the level of service the transportation agency provides. The client requires a stretcher service, which CARR does not provide. When the situation arose, CARR immediately contacted the Medical Transportation Program Broker and informed them so that they could notify the health plan and correct the information, as well as locate a transportation provider based upon the level of service the client requires,” CARR shared.

His grandmother, Thelma Goswick, is frustrated and confused about why the organization has stopped providing rides after years of service.

“I don’t know why they quit. They said it was a seating issue; his feet hung off, but he’s been this way since 2008, and they’ve been transporting him, and he even had a chair one time that, like, in down here, and they transported him,” Goswick said. “All I can say is I love him I’m going to fight for him. I’m his only voice.”

Williams will have access to an ambulance for the next six months to transport him to his appointments, but the family will have to find reliable transportation to follow behind.