Diomede (59) has hardly ever been outdoors for the better part of 10 years.
A terrible road accident left him with paralysis from the waist down. He couldn’t move without assistance, and at 154 pounds, he was too heavy for anyone to carry.
Unable to cope with their new reality, Diomede’s wife abandoned him and their then-16-year-old son shortly after the accident.
“It was very difficult to go out,” said Diomede to our local distribution partner, Food For the Hungry. “I was like a dead person. It was so hard to carry me when I wanted to go to the hospital.”
Diomede would remain confined to his darkened room for a decade, with only a small window for ventilation. “I had even developed blindness due to lack of light. Night and day were the same to me. Nothing could make me happy.”
Everything changed when he received a new wheelchair, thanks to the generosity of friends like you.
“Now, I can move by myself outside to chat with neighbors and friends. It feels good to be in the soft sunlight. I started to feel again how life is good, to smile and to love myself.”
Mobility isn’t the only thing Diomede gained when he got his wheelchair. “My sight has come back. I can read and see again! I have freedom. Words are not enough to say thank you to this organization, which gave me a chance to come outside and meet people.”
The gift of a wheelchair provides more than just mobility. It offers renewed hope, freedom, and independence—in more ways than one.
Would consider giving someone this gift today?