Wheelchairs 4 Kids and the Jacksonville Jaycees give a Lift to Palm Bay Boy!
John is a handsome teenager who loves life! He enjoys meeting new people, going to movies with his friends and cheering for the Florida Gators. His favorite color is orange, of course! He likes all types of music; everything from country to rap, but his all-time favorite band is Rascal Flatts.
John was diagnosed with mitochondrial myopathy when he was in first grade. It is a progressive disease that has slowly robbed John of his independence. John has gone from using a walker to a manual wheelchair and as he lost the use of his arms, a power chair.
The wheelchair lift on his parents van was broken and extremely unsafe. It was a dangerous situation for John had fallen off of it twice. It was time for Wheelchairs 4 Kids to go to work!
The nonprofit, which is less than a year old, contacted several companies in Brevard County, but could not find anyone who would discount fixing the lift for a price that was affordable. “So we called Custom Mobility in Largo who agreed to fix the lift at a price we could work with. They have been an amazing partner”, said Wheelchairs 4 Kids Executive Director, Madeline Robinson. “It was less expensive to bring the family to us.” Wheelchairs 4 Kids paid for a hotel stay, gas and food.
The Jacksonville Jaycees agreed to sponsor John’s lift. They had already sponsored a wheelchair for a young girl in their area and raised more money than needed. “They were kind enough to let us use the excess to sponsor John’s lift” said Robinson. The Jaycees are a wonderful organization that teaches young men and women leadership training through community involvement.
Once the family arrived in town, it was apparent exactly how bad the lift was. It was much worse than anticipated. “Not only was it bent and unstable, it was a fire hazard!” said Gary, the Custom Mobility installer. “The electrical was pretty much fried. They were very lucky that no one had been hurt”. Custom Mobility decided that the lift was beyond repair and installed a new refurbished lift for the same price they had agreed upon to fix the old lift. “I could not in good conscience let John and his family leave with the lift that they had”, said Bruce Bayes, owner of Custom Mobility.
“The new lift is wonderful”, stated John’s mom. “It is so great to know that he is safe. It is an amazing gift. Thank you to everyone who made it possible.”
Wheelchairs 4 Kids would like to thank Custom Mobility and the Jacksonville Jaycees for all of their help.
