Free car a surprise for ailing single mom

Terri Lynn Torres (second from left) and her grandson Adrian Romero, 3, react to receiving a black 2008 Jetta (foreground) from Charles (behind) and Linda (right) Van Kessler of Passion 4 KIDS on Friday in Vista. Torres is suffering from a brain tumor and didn't have a car. — Eduardo Contreras

VISTA — It’s been a tough haul for single mother Terri Lynn Torres. For two decades, she has suffered from a brain tumor – benign, but in recent years, growing much faster.

The intense headaches it brings can leave her screaming. The 51-year-old Vista woman said radiation treatment two years ago didn’t work, and she now faces potentially life-threatening surgery as her main treatment option.

Getting to doctor’s appointments became harder last year after she lost her car — the main source of transportation for her and her teenage daughter.

On Friday came some relief. The small North County based-nonprofit Passion 4 K.I.D.S. lifted Torres’ transportation burden, surprising her with a gently used 2008 Volkswagon Jetta.

“A big part of the stress is lifted off of me — and that’s big,” a still shocked Torres said as she sat in the black sedan, 3-year-old grandson Adrian Romero on her lap.

Terri Lynn Torres and her grandson Adrian Romero, 3, react to receiving a 2008 Jetta from Charles and Linda Van Kessler (in reflection) of Passion 4 KIDS on Friday in Vista. Torres is suffering from a brain tumor and didn't have a car. — Eduardo Contreras

Passion 4 K.I.D.S. (kids in desperate situations) is a small charity, run by local philanthropists Linda and Charles Van Kessler. Though funding is extremely tight, Linda Van Kessler said, the group was able to purchase the Jetta from a Poway business that had used it as a company car.

The firm dropped the price 20 percent when the boss learned where the car would go, Van Kessler said.

“I always wish we could buy people brand new cars, but we just do the best we can,” Van Kessler said. “And this is such an emergency for her.”

When the Van Kesslers handed her the keys Friday, Torres was so thrilled, she didn’t think to ask what kind of car it was. All she knew was that it was running, and that it was hers.

“I would have a clunker dunker if I could, something that would putt, putt, putt down the street,” she said, noting how grateful she was for the gift. This sleek black four-door car was more than she could imagine.

The ailing Torres has been walking most places for the last year, and even fell down while walking last week. Getting her 14-year-old daughter to school has been a challenge, and she has relied on her 20-year-old daughter — herself married with two kids and living in Oceanside — to help.

Torres said the surprise car will allow her to “just life live with a lot less stress right now.” And that includes the ability to reach doctors appointments, some as far as Chula Vista.

“I’ve had a lot of struggles,” Torres said. “Just to have some happy news is really positive.

Passion 4 K.I.D.S. is best known for helping “Baby Izaiah,” who was just 18-months-old when his stroller was struck by a drunken teen driver in October 2010. The Van Kesslers helped raise money for Izaiah’s family, to help them buy a home, get a disabled-access van and cover some expenses.

Much of the organization’s funding comes through small donations — sometimes just $5 — and the couple is hoping to expand their donor base.

Torres called the Van Kesslers “amazing people.”

“It’s nice to know there are people who do good things,” she said.