Little Monroe Has Our Heart

July 6, 2021 1:15 pm Published by

Five-year-old Monroe, his mom, his siblings, his cousins and his aunt and uncle were walking home from the grocery store when they were struck by a tragic accident. The family was hit by a car while crossing the street on a crosswalk.

While Monroe’s sister and uncle suffered only minor injuries, little Monroe was rushed to a surgical table at the Harborview Medical Center. The doctors inserted rods to hold his displaced and fractured femur together until it healed. 

The doctors told Monroe not to bear any weight on his injured leg for 5-6 months, but the family could not afford the cost of a wheelchair. The situation was looking bleak… until a woman from their church told them about Bridge Disability Ministries.

She brought the family to our center and we supplied them with the smallest wheelchair we had and combined with a cushion and transfer board to support Monroe’s leg and keep it straight.

The family cried tears of joy. With this new wheelchair, Monroe would finally be able to return to school and gain some semblance of normalcy.

We were happy to help, but one thing nagged at us. While it was great that his mom had a way to transport Monroe without carrying him, at about 4’9” and very thin, she could not have weighed more than 90 pounds – probably less – the weight of Monroe’s chair was nearly half her weight! As strong as she was for her size, we knew her back was at risk loading a standard wheelchair into vehicles. 

She would’ve never uttered a single complaint or even thought about asking for a lighter chair, but three weeks later, when a junior-size, aluminum transport chair arrived at our donation center, Monroe’s mother immediately came to mind. It was a perfect fit – less than half the weight of the wheelchair we loaned them! We contacted the woman who first brought her to our center and asked if she thought Monroe’s mom would like it instead of the wheelchair. She was happy to bring the family back into our center to see the chair. Watching the look of recognition and relief on the mom’s face as she lifted the chair was the highlight of our day.

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