PEOPLE WE'VE HELPED
2004 Wheelchair Recipients James Sloan and Angela Taylor-Perry
James Sloan
Angela Taylor-Perry
2004 Wheelchair Recipient James Sloan
How would you react if you were living a normal life, to find out one day that you were diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare condition that causes temporary paralysis from the neck down?
That’s what happened to James Sloan of Shreveport, LA after he went to a doctor to seek care for what he thought was a stomach virus. James was paralyzed from the neck down but was told, that like 98% of other patients with Guillain-Barre, he would recover in six to 12 months.
That was in 2001; today in 2005 James is still paralyzed and relies on a newly donated chair from Alternatives in Motion, but the way this chair was acquired is a special and unique story in and of itself.
While home on military leave from his deployment with the 2nd Marine Battalion, Lt. Eric VerHulst brought in a wheelchair for donation. Just a few days prior, his father Glen VerHulst, passed away after living with a progressive form of multiple sclerosis.
Eric, a resident of Grand Rapids, MI, heard about Alternatives in Motion and wanted to help the cause. Eric stopped by the office and donated the chair on July 27, 2004. The next day, the navy chaplain boarded a plan and returned to his unit south of Baghdad.
It just so happened that Alternatives in Motion already had an application from James Sloan and even more ironic, the chair fit the description of what James needed. The chair was shipped to Louisiana where a local vendor put all the pieces back together and got James off and rolling.
Now James is able to leave the confines of the Irving Place Rehabilitation Center where he resides and has the ability to move around freely on his own. James’ wife Debra said, “Just to be able to move from place to place and see him outside in the sunshine, it’s a very good feeling.”
2004 Wheelchair Recipient Angela Taylor-Perry
If college wasn’t hard enough already, try attending the Calvin Theological Seminary full time while living with Multiple Sclerosis. (MS) That’s exactly what Angela Taylor-Perry is doing, but things have gotten easier for her since receiving a new power chair from Alternatives in Motion.
On April 30, 1986 Angela was diagnosed with secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis. Her condition gradually progressed into extreme numbness and stiffness on her right side. Angela’s condition prevents her from walking and standing for short periods of time, making it very difficult to get to class and around campus.
With Angela’s new chair came a new attitude and outlook towards life. Angela said, “I proclaim that MS is More Strength, for without it I would not be where I am this very moment.”
Angela’s current goals revolve around developing a ministry in partnership with her husband in Kalamazoo. Angela is also looking forward to becoming the first African American woman to graduate from the Calvin Theological Seminary. Congratulations Angela!!
When Angela isn’t tied down with homework and studying, she is working on a new expression of her love and life of Christ through liturgical art. Last year she complete her first collection of prose and poetry entitled “Raw Spirit”
Angela says, “It is exceptional to have met everyone at Alternatives in Motion. I am certain that if it were not for More Strength our lives my not have been touched with such a healthy richness.”