This is the Beginning of the Beginning Again

“This is the beginning of the beginning again. I am so grateful,” said Jeanette Farnsworth who was among the first recipients of 1,120 wheelchairs that will be distributed in Utah over the next several months. Farnsworth, who has degenerative cerebral palsy, said her motorized wheelchair was destroyed in an auto-pedestrian accident five years ago.  The distribution of free wheelchairs is through a cooperative effort by The Wheelchair Foundation, Intermountain Health Care and the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation.

Bill Nelson, IHC’s president and chief executive officer feels strongly about every person’s right to mobility.

“There should be no one in the state of Utah who needs a wheelchair but doesn’t have one due to economic means.”

Ken Behring, former owner of the Seattle Seahawks, founded the Wheelchair Foundation in 2000. Since its inception, the foundation has given away more than 313,000 wheelchairs in some 130 countries around the world. 

“Many people think a wheelchair is not freedom, but a wheelchair is freedom and dignity,” Behring said during a press conference in Utah.

Behring told some of the touching experiences he’s had through meeting recipients, including a man who lived in the Gaza Strip.

The man, Behring said, crawled to the giveaway and after receiving the wheelchair, told foundation officials, “Now I am a man. I can look someone in the eyes.”

Muffy Davis, a four-time winter Paralympics athlete who was paralyzed in a skiing accident when she was 16 was at the distribution. Muffy shared her personal story of how a wheelchair has helped her life since the accident.

“I was devastated,” Davis said, explaining it had been her dream to be an Olympic champion in racing. “That was my thoughts and beliefs then, but I have changed my thoughts and beliefs. I now see these wheelchairs as the most liberating piece of equipment available.”

Mike Leavitt, the Former Utah Governor and his wife Jackie attended the distribution and helped Farnsworth and other Utah residents into their new wheelchairs. Jackie Leavitt has been a long time supporter of the Wheelchair Foundation and its mission. Her Husband Mike will soon Head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“This foundation’s goal is to eradicate immobility,” Leavitt said.

For further information regarding obtaining a free wheelchair in the state of Utah please call 877-378-3839 or apply at www.wheelchairfoundation.org/Utah.

Related Links:

• http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2496232
• http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600099791,00.html
• http://www.kotv.com/main/home/stories.asp?whichpage=1&id=74931