'In January, a mom contacted the Red Rock Center in hopes of being able to borrow a wheelchair for her son. The wheelchairs that her son was using had completely fallen apart and he was unable to go to school school on the bus because his wheelchair was unsafe. The little boy needed a pediatric size chair with a 5 point harness. Unfortunately, at
the time, RRCI didn’t have this specialized wheelchair in the loan bank.
The family has been approved by Shriner’s Hospital for a new chair. However, they were months away from receiving the equipment. He really needed a loaner chair until he could get his new chair built.
A post was made on the Red Rock Center’s Facebook page for help. “We need a little help today!” and went on to describe the desperate situation of this family. The post was viewed by the Facebook community and passed on to Clay Christensen, AT lab coordinator and Alma Burgess, program coordinator for Citizens Re-utilizing Assistive Technology Equipment (CReATE) at Utah State University’s Center for Persons with Disabilities.
Tom Boman, CReATE’s wheelchair technician contacted Red Rock Center’s assistive technology specialist Mike Earl, who explained exactly what was needed. Because CReATE maintains such a large inventory of refurbished mobility equipment, Boman was able to quickly locate a suitable loaner for this little guy!
Within 24 hours of the original Facebook post, a wheelchair had been found and arrangements had been made to deliver it to the family in St. George. One of the best things about the people in the state of Utah is that when there is a need, there is NOTHING that can’t be done!'
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