A GUTSY Thornbury resident left a quadriplegic after contracting Lyme disease from a tick bite in Europe has never let hardship get between him and his dreams.

But Mark Rostoks is now in need of a helping hand to make his biggest dream a reality.

The 37-year-old last week launched a gofundme.com campaign to raise $40,000 to buy his ‘hello freedom van’, a custom van capable of whisking him away from his disability supported accommodation.

“Letting go of pride I’m asking for help,” Mr Rostoks said. “I want to buy a van, and deck it out with all my medical equipment, so that I can escape from my predicament some times.

“This freedom is what I crave in life.”

While apprehensive about asking for a helping hand, Mr Rostoks said he had been left with few other options to make his dream of a “personal safe haven on wheels” a reality.

“After a recent rent increase, I’m now left with a mere $200 to live on each week,” he said.

“Crowd-funding seemed like the logical next step.”

media_camera Mark Rostoks in 2013 when he appeared on the front page of the Northcote Leader as part of his bucket list challage. Picture: Adam Elwood

After living with Lyme disease for the past 14 years, Mr Rostoks said he had lost “almost everything”.

“I can’t move, I can’t eat, I can’t live at home; in fact I can barely breathe or even talk,” he said. “Anxiety, medical needs, the need for specialty equipment — it has all made me a prisoner.

“I’ve only left the house five times in the past year — and on each of those occasions it was to attend a medical appointment.

“I’m a young man, and I’m rotting away here.”

Mr Rostoks contracted Lyme disease while on a trip to Europe in 2003, eventually leaving him a quadriplegic, unable to speak and reliant on a feeding tube in his stomach.

Despite his health problems, little had held Mr Rostoks back, ticking off bucket list items including running a half marathon in his wheelchair, appearing on Neighbours, and even getting a kiss from supermodel Miranda Kerr.

To help Mr Rostoks achieve his dream, visit gofundme.com/HelloFreedomVan