An Oceanside veteran was gifted a $19,000 electric wheelchair courtesy of the giving family of the woman who used it until her death.
The wheelchair once belonged to a woman named Kit. Kit passed away in September and her family, who wished to remain anonymous, decided to donate the mobile chair to James Jones, a veteran of the Vietnam War.
Jones, a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, was injured twice while serving in Vietnam making it hard for the father of seven, and now grandfather to 16, to get around. Jones’ new toy will surely change that.
“This is a Christmas gift,” Jones said. “And I’m glad for it.”
Kit’s family says that she would have wanted the wheelchair donated so that somebody else could experience the same joys it once gave her.
A letter to Jones from Kit’s family detailed a tragic car accident that paralyzed Kit from the neck down. It also explained why, after years of recovery, Kit’s wheelchair meant so much to her.
“In 2010, after nearly two years of knowing only life in a bed, Kit received her newfound greatest joy: this wheelchair. She could once again go for strolls outside and enjoy the weather. She could take her dog, Lady, for walks again. She could sit for hours at a time in her garden enjoying an audio book. It was always a challenge for anyone to convince her to come back inside.”
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The family went on to wish that the wheelchair open new doors for Jones. In the letter’s final line, the family imagined Kit watching Jones enjoy the chair from a place where she no longer needs one, and it ended with a bit of advice from Kit herself.
“Take the corners slow.”
