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jcil inthenews
Vera Lescure sits in her new wheelchair provided by an agency of United Way in Jackson with the help of a Dyersburg company.Ridgely's Vera Lescure was on the verge of tears Friday when she realized that God had answered the heartfelt prayer she and Christian friends had been praying for weeks. The 63-year-old widow had for 20 years been confined to a wheelchair as a result of MS, a debilitating disease of the nervous system that often leaves patients unable to walk. Her only lifeline to independent living was a motorized wheelchair and it had "given up the ghost" months ago. On her meager income, a monthly disability check, it was impossible for her to get the device repaired. Her plight became the subject of an article in last week's State Gazette and that story was seen by a local CPA, Travis Davison, who did work for a United Way agency based in Jackson. Phillip Merrell, coordinator for Jackson Center for Independent Living, said he had received a fax from Davison that included a copy of the article that appeared in the newspaper. "I called Mrs. Lescure if we could come up and assist her. She needed the chair and she was disabled. As a United Way agency we work with individuals who have disabilities in order to help them achieve their goal of independent living. "We paid for part of the expense of the chair," Merrell said. "Handicap of Jackson, a for-profit company, paid for the remainder of the chair. It was a much newer model than the one she had before and, we think, much better." A spokesman for Handicap of Jackson said the firm dealt mostly in Pride products, one of the top brands of motorized wheelchairs and scooters in the nation. JCIL provides core services of Information and Referral, peer counseling, individual and systems advocacy, Independent Living Skills training and other services. JCIL is a UNITED WAY Agency |
