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BY JOYCE RUSSELL
joycer@nwitimes.com
219.762.1397, ext. 2222 | Tuesday, January 15, 2008 | (6 comment(s))
PORTAGE | Brooks Willmon has no chance of walking again.
Willmon, 23, broke his back in an ATV accident at age 17 in his native Alabama.
Willmon adjusted after becoming paraplegic. He could pretty much do everything he needed to do around the house in his custom-made wheelchair.
But now it's gone. Thieves made off with the titanium chair early Thursday evening from his home on Polk Street. He and his wife, Kimberly, left the chair at the far end of the driveway when they went to get a gallon milk from a local convenience store. They weren't gone more than 10 minutes.
"It's like taking my legs again for a second time," Willmon said Monday sitting in a wheelchair borrowed from the Porter County Salvation Army.
All Willmon wants is his titanium wheelchair, which cost $4,500 six years ago.
"I didn't know there would be someone out there that would steal it, but I guess there was," he said.
Kimberly and Brooks married 10 months ago. He adopted her 11-year-old daughter, Madyson. They moved to Portage nine months ago.
The couple have been going through some difficult financial times. He applied for Social Security disability back in September, but he hasn't heard if he'll be accepted. He also applied for Medicaid. Medicaid paid for the wheelchair six years ago, but when he became of legal age, he lost coverage and didn't apply again until recently.
Just before Christmas, Kimberly slipped on some ice outside their duplex and broke her right hand. Despite the injury, she'd been lifting Brooks in and out of his chair. She reinjured her hand this weekend and on Sunday ended up in a hospital emergency room, where they told her she had broken it again.
After the wheelchair was stolen, the Willmons went to the local Salvation Army, where they were loaned a hospital-type wheelchair. On Friday, they went to the Portage Township trustee's office to apply for assistance. The office helped Brooks secure, temporarily, a motorized wheelchair from the Bonner Senior Center.
They reported the theft to the Portage Police Department, which is investigating.
"I can't believe how nice some people are in our time of need," said Kimberly Willmon.
Still, the borrowed wheelchairs limit Brooks' mobility around the house and make it difficult for him to get around. They also are much heavier, limiting his ability to leave his home. And, said Kimberly Willmon, because of Brooks' slight build, they don't fit properly and she's afraid they may cause additional medical problems.
BREAKOUT
Missing wheelchair
Brooks Willmon's wheelchair is manufactured by Quickie. It is silver in color with skull pattern fabric covering the seat. It is considered a basketball-style wheelchair. Anyone with information about the wheelchair is asked to call the Portage Police Department at (219) 762-3122.
Missing wheelchair
Brooks Willmon's wheelchair is manufactured by Quickie. It is silver in color with skull pattern fabric covering the seat. It is considered a basketball-style wheelchair. Anyone with information about the wheelchair is asked to call the Portage Police Department at (219) 762-3122.
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GROW UP, PEOPLE!! wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:29 AM:
ignorrance. wrote on Jan 15, 2008 9:35 AM:
please wrote on Jan 15, 2008 9:28 AM:
Linda wrote on Jan 15, 2008 9:18 AM:
nice wrote on Jan 15, 2008 6:03 AM:
was it wrote on Jan 15, 2008 3:29 AM: