Toy truck search for disabled brother.

Loving Sister Asks Internet For Old Tonka Trucks For Her Disabled Brother - Then Tonka Hears About It

Christmas is fast approaching. People are busy getting gifts for loved ones.

Receiving the same gift for Christmas 17 years in a row may sound boring, but for 25-year-old Max from Maryland, it’s exactly what he wants.

Max Gretschel is legally blind.

Max is special. He both mentally and physically disabled, and he loves playing with things like Tonka trucks.

For the past several years Max’s older sister Cassie Gretschel, 30, has bought her brother a Tonka truck—but not just any kind of truck from Tonka. She gives him a Fire Rescue Hummer, which was made in 2000. Unfortunately, the truck has since been discontinued, the only way Cassie or their family can purchase the truck for Max is on eBay.

Year 2000 blue Tonka truck.

Having no luck in finding a truck on eBay, Cassie shared her dilemma on Reddit.

Cassie used to be able to find the discontinued trucks online, but after years of purchasing them on eBay, it seemed as if that channel had run dry.

She said that she’s even attempted to paint the trucks and has made resin cast copies of certain parts of the truck, but Max can tell the difference.

Cassie posted for help, and many responded, tagged Tonka.

The family has attempted to give Max, who is legally blind, other Tonka trucks that are much easier to find, but this specific model is what Cassie calls the “holy grail for a visually impaired brother.”

Reddit users shared Cassie’s story about her quest to find a specific truck for her brother with Tonka, and they were excited to help the family out.

Cassie playing with Max.

“As soon as we received the first email, no one at this office batted an eye, and we began searching for the toy immediately,” said Jessica Gonzalez, a spokeswoman with manufacturer Funrise Toy, owner of Tonka.

Gonzalez said the task of finding the Hummer would be difficult since the toy was old, but she was confident after searching the company’s warehouses in both the United States and China they’d find something for Max.

"We plan on sending her as many of those hummer trucks we can find, as well as some additional Tonka trucks,” she said. “Since he has special requests like, no rubber wheels, action levers, and a need for bright colors (he’s legally blind), we plan on making some custom adjustments to some other vehicles in hopes that he’ll like those as well.”

Max and one of his Tonka truck.

It appears that this Christmas Cassie won’t have to worry about scouring eBay.

The family, who has one red Hummer hidden in a closet for backup, won’t have to worry about disappointing Max this Christmas. Whether it’s a vehicle from a Redditor or some fantastic surprise trucks from Tonka, it looks like he’ll have at least one present to open on Christmas.

“It’s like an all-year mission, but we haven’t failed him yet!” Cassie said.

“Brothers and sisters are like streetlights along the road, they don’t make distance any shorter but they light up the path and make the walk worthwhile.”

- Anonymous