Michael

A Manual Wheelchair for Church,
By George Ranville

Early this summer we received a hand scribbled application for a wheelchair from Michael in Alexandria, Virginia – a long way from our Grand Rapids operating base. Liz filed it away, thinking that a delivery to Virginia would be too expensive to happen.  But, as things turned out, my daughter landed an internship in the Washington DC area and would be living with friends in Alexandria.  

Liz pulled Michael’s application from the file, with barely legible handwriting.  I had to guess at what his phone number was but I dialed my best guess, and I got Michael on the line the day before leaving for DC. He was difficult to understand but I was able to determine he has Parkinson’s (explaining illegible handwriting.), and that yes, he still needed a foldable wheelchair. I packed a wheelchair, that would hopefully fit Michael, into one of the cars, and we headed east.    

After unpacking my daughter into her new living quarters, the only thing left in the car was the wheelchair scheduled for delivery the next morning. I gave Michael a confirming phone call and headed off to his address just off Glebe Road. A friend answered the door and I met Michael’s wife and chatted with her in the living room. After about 10 minutes, Michael made it down the stairs. With a grin he sat down in the wheelchair and it fit him perfectly!  

Regarding funding, Michael stated his request for a manual wheelchair had been denied after he had been provided with a walker earlier in the year. Unfortunately his physical ability had deteriorated too much to use a walker – he now needed the wheelchair. His research on the internet for help led him to Alternatives in Motion. When I asked him where he would go with his wheelchair he happily answered  “to church on Sunday!” We at Alternatives in Motion were more than happy to be a part of getting Michael Epstein to his local Baptist Church on Sunday,  700 miles away in Virginia.