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This story comes from our own staff member Whitney.  She was in El Salvador with Flying Doctors this past weekend:

The Rotary Club of San Salvador had a wheelchair distribution event at the Rehabilitation Center in the City. As our bus pulled up to the center we passed one man crawling to the event. We passed him by and eagerly waited for him to come get his wheelchair. However, as the ceremony ended, we could not see him in any of the wheelchairs. So we went out to find him. There he was sitting at the bus stop. We asked him, "Why have you not come to the ceremony?" He replied, "I cannot get the wheelchair home after I get it." 

He had taken the bus 45 kilometers and didn’t think the bus would take the wheelchair. We told him to come back and that we could get him home, with his wheelchair.  He crawled back to the ceremony.  His face really lit up as he sat proudly in his new wheelchair. Now he would no longer live his life crawling through the dirt. I asked him if he liked his new wheelchair, and he looked at me and said ever so proudly, “Yes!  I am Roger Martinez and I am happy today!”

Close to one hundred people left that day not crawling or being carried, but they sat proudly in their wheelchairs. As I greeted each one of them, I found such great joy and happiness in doing this great work. Roger's life was changed forever, but so had mine.  There really are no words to describe the emotions you feel when you literally pick someone off the ground and give them a chance for a better life. I walked away a better person, humbled and thankful for each step I am able to take.

I am thankful for every person involved in this mission; it began 5 years ago in one man’s garage, then to our donors who fund the mission, our manufacturers who build the wheelchairs, our staff who keeps it all organized, then our partners who receive, assemble and distribute hundreds wheelchairs at a time, and most importantly to recipients who wait patiently, sometimes there whole life for this opportunity. The eyes of these wheelchair recipients were filled with joy and tears and light. They know they are loved and love you back.  Let's be thankful we can all depend on each other and continue to lift each other up.