What We've Been Up To
A few days ago Pat and I headed out towards the coast to pick up Gravy, and his family so that we could take them to San Lucas to see Doctor Will. Gravy is a 4 year old boy that I found a few weeks ago when I was with a Bethel ministries teem that was building a house for a family that lived next door to him. He is very bright but has a bone deformity that has stunted his growth and deformed his legs, making it difficult for him to walk.
Patty's wheelchair was in reasonably good shape so after doing a few minor repairs we said our goodbyes and started to head to my car. I was starting to think to myself that this was going to be a rather easy day. It was then that at Father told us that Yelson who lived about a quarter mile further down the road was having problems with the power chair that we gave to him the same day that Patty had received hers. We had already talked about visiting Yelson but I was hoping that his wheelchair was not in need of repair.
When we arrived at Yelson's home we discovered that his wheelchair had not been running for the past 6 months and that his mother had lost the phone numbers that I had given her. Since Yelson who has muscular dystrophy relies on his wheelchair for school I promised that I would bring him a loaner wheelchair and take his wheelchair to the shop to have it repaired. This meant another day on the road later in the week but I knew how much Yelson needed his wheelchair.
Although both boys are smiling in these pictures their life and that of their mother is not an easy one. During the past year the younger of the two has totally lost the ability to walk and the older one can only take a few steps before falling to the ground. Mom now carries them one at a time to and from their school. I promised that I would do my best to get them power wheelchairs since they are too week to propel manual wheelchairs. Problem is we are out of Batteries for power chairs and they run us from $110 to just over $200 per wheelchair. we are very selective in who we give power wheelchairs to. Only kids that do not have enough hand use to propel themselves are given power chairs rather than manual wheelchairs. Right now I know of nearly a dozen kids that can not go to school because they do not have batteries for their power wheelchairs. If you would like to help out with this need please let me know.
(Click here for Dick's E-mail)
This is all that stands between several kids being
able to go to school and sitting at home all day.
I know how much Diago needed a power chair so I did a lot of praying. As I prayed for batteries my mind wondered a bit. I hate to admit it but it does that a lot lately, not only while praying but as you can see by today's journal ............ . Anyway where was I? Oh ya, Here I was in a factory full of completed and partly completed children's wheelchairs, next to a warehouse that had some Extra Lardo Plus power chairs. "What if?" "Naw!" "that would never work." "Or would it?"
Anyway here is a copy of the letter that I wrote to Mark Richard the following day.
Hi Mark:
I hope that you don't mind but I made a few small modifications to the undercarriage of one of your Hope Haven Kid's Chairs.
I figured that I would put some smaller tires on it since the Diago, the boy that was getting it could not self propel anyway.
The frame just so happened to have motors connected to it and since I was to lazy to remove the motors I figured I would just leave them there.
I wasn't sure how to disconnect the controller so I made a bracket and put it on the Hope Haven chair.
Once Ilse and I got to the orphanage where Diago lives,
my new friend Diago and I adjusted the chair so that it would fit him.
It took a while but under Diego's supervision we got everything together.
Diago loved the way the Chair fit but seemed a little concerned that this chair would be a bit heavy for someone to push.
Next thing I know he started pushing on some buttons on the controller.
Wow !! It looks like we now have a Hope Haven Power Chair !!
Diago will still need a few driving lessons but this project worked out so well that we are considering putting Hope Haven seating systems on a few more of the large power chairs that were sent down to Guatemala so that some of the kids that are waiting for power chairs can have the best of both worlds.
Yours in Christ: Dick
Don't hold you breath for mass production of this new chair but it could give MacGyver a run for the money.
Alex went with me into the City to deliver a few walkers the other day. Not exactly a neighborhood that you want to be in after dark but the families that we visited were very nice to us.
On Wednesday Bryan and I brought Alma up to see Doctor Will, Alma had to have her cast removed early Thursday morning so we decided to make it a 2 day trip. It is only a 2 hour drive but the roads are so bad that you feel like you have been on them for days.
Well that is about it for now.
Please pray for my Boys there is a lot of temptation here in Guatemala.
Goodnight,
<>< Yours in Christ: Dick ><>
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