Ford F-150 PowerBoost Lets Son With Rare Medical Condition Go On Vacation With Family
The family hadn’t been able to go on vacation together in five years prior to purchasing their Ford F-150 PowerBoost.
Since it launched for the 2021 model year, the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid pickup has been a smash hit for the automaker, offering up excellent fuel economy and loads of power. But the PowerBoost also comes equipped with the most capable version of Ford’s Pro Power Onboard generator as well, as least aside from the one present in the all-electric F-150 Lightning, pumping out 7.2 kW of portable power. That nifty feature has made the Ford F-150 PowerBoost a useful tool, one that has helped multiple cities recover from recent natural disasters, and even helping to keep a wedding reception going when the power went out. But the PowerBoost is also capable of doing something that Ford engineers didn’t think of when they developed it – support medical equipment for those that need it on the go.
We know this because the DeBatt family from Washington, D.C. uses their Ford F-150 PowerBoost pickup for exactly that purpose – to run one of their son’s medical equipment when they go on vacation, which is something they hadn’t done in five years prior to purchasing it, as they explained to the Detroit Free Press.
Their son, Danny, was previously diagnosed with a rare medical condition called lissencephaly, or “smooth brain,” which left him unable to walk, stand, or talk, and it also means that he must rely on not only a wheelchair, but also sensors that monitor his health, an eye-gaze computer that allows him to form sentences and communicate, and a BiPap machine that helps him breathe.
As such, the DeBatts weren’t ever able to travel long distances and take vacations in their other vehicles, as they couldn’t support this equipment if and when Danny needed it. But after Danny’s older brother, Sam, fell in love with a family friend’s F-150, he later learned about the PowerBoost and its Pro Power Onboard feature, which he quickly realized might be the key to solving his family’s dilemma. Turns out, he was absolutely right.
Now armed with the pickup and a camper to tow it with, the DeBatt family is already making up for lost time, and have taken multiple vacations together – something they didn’t previously think was possible. “Danny is my favorite person and I love him,” Sam said. “It gets a little lonely if we’re not with the entire family. It’s usually just me and my mom and my youngest brother. Mom is with my youngest brother so I don’t get a lot of time with my mom. The truck was my idea. As a family, we get more time with our parents.”
Photos: Ford
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