A Moving Day

Thursday morning, January 18th, Armando awoke at four in the morning and left his house to travel to Managua. But what was different about this day than any other, was that he was actually leaving his house for the very first time in the eight years of his life. Armando is disabled and cannot walk on his own; he previously did not have a wheelchair, and thus no way of getting around. Last week, however, his life changed greatly because through the Wheel Chair Foundation and a group of medical volunteers from Connecticut, he was given a brand new wheelchair.

Ingred is six years old and has a medical condition that caused her head to swell with liquid to the point where she can no longer support it. She has spent most her life in an old, worn-out stroller with her head always reclined or in the arms of her grandmother with her head resting on the shoulder. But on that same day, a group of men worked for hours in the sweltering Nicaraguan heat, to specially build a wheelchair for Ingred that would support her head and allow her to sit up. It was such a beautiful moment to see her sit up in her wheelchair for the first time because not only does the wheelchair allow her to be more mobile, but now she can actually hold her head up and not only see what is happening around her, but allow for some of the liquid in her head to drain out. Ingred smiled big and moved her eyes around exploring her new surroundings as everyone just stood in silence and amazement of the miracle that had just occurred. The grandmother hugged the doctor and the men who built the wheelchair, and although they weren't able to speak because of the language difference, words weren't needed to express her deep gratitude.

These were just a few of the miracles I witnessed as I traveled with a group of 20 disabled children and adults from the community where I am working to receive wheelchairs. The day was a challenge for all of us because the people were in need of wheelchairs and thus immobilized, so to bring them to the clinic where the wheelchairs were distributed was a difficult task. I went along that day to help out where needed—helping the volunteers from Connecticut who didn’t speak Spanish or moving people in and out of their new wheelchairs as they tried out which size fit them best.

It is difficult to really express how beautiful it was to see young children or the elderly weak move around for the first time and smile as they were free to go about independently. One by one all the people who we brought from El Recreo were fit for their new chairs and the minibuses filled back up with the roof piled high of boxes and wheelchairs, and although we were all exhausted from the trip, there was a new energy about them…as if it was the best Christmas morning ever because it not only brought the material gift of the chairs but also the gift of hope and opportunity for their future.

That night as I laid in bed exhausted and reflecting back on the day, I dreamt of the lives that had changed by the simple gift of a wheelchair. I saw Carmen attending classes at college; Don Tinoco wheeling himself around the basketball court; Antonia with her family and grandchildren; Hugo going to school and learning to read and write, and Armando playing outside with family and friends. I felt so blessed to have been a part of that experience, for it wasn’t just those that received the wheelchairs that moved that day, I certainly was moved also.