“Now my independence and mobility have shot through the roof thanks to the motorized scooter and the amazing people at Langley Pos-Abilities Society!”
—Cindy LeGrier, Langley
Hi. My name is Paul Volchoff. I have been a volunteer with Langley Pos-Abilities Society since November 2019. Currently I have had the honour of being voted by the Board of Directors to Equipment Manager and Director. Every once in a while, a request for an assistive device comes in with an amazing true story that needs to be told. This is a story about Cindy LeGrier of Langley who requested a scooter.
On October 27, 2017, Cindy LeGrier encountered a brain aneurysm burst. In that first week, Cindy had two brain surgeries and was in a coma for three days. In addition, Cindy also suffered a mini stroke. Having no recollection of the aneurysm, Cindy however knew that her left side was paralyzed. Several doctors had told her the paralysis would be permanent. Cindy’s fighting response was, “WRONG! NOT ME!!”
When Cindy was finally discharged, she left in a manual wheelchair, unable to use her left leg, left arm and was determined legally blind! Cindy stated, “After my aneurysm, mobility was terrible! I only had the one arm to use, so getting myself around by my manual wheelchair was way too difficult. I could not even enter or exit my building and the ramps in front of the building were way too steep. I was stuck at home. My husband Terrell had to work, and I always needed someone to be with me and push my wheelchair.
There was a lot of crying!!! A lot of me saying, I can’t do this, and I can’t do that. I felt very helpless. But my husband Terrell knew how to push me through these things and would always have me at least try whatever it was I thought I could not do. He would break the task into easy, safe steps for me to follow and little by little I could do more and more on my own! Terrell is a former active duty Marine. He certainly does have an amazing work ethic!”
With much rehab and wanting to get out of her building independently, Cindy talked with her case manager, Dawn Walker, at the Fraser Valley Brain Injury Association and asked if she knew of any organizations that might fund an electric chair or scooter. Dawn told Cindy about Langley Pos-Abilities Society and helped her email the request form for the assistive device.
When I received the request form from Dawn, I spoke with her to determine Cindy’s needs. A scooter seemed appropriate and we had one in stock at our storage unit. Unfortunately, when the groundwork was done and we were ready to deliver, we were hit with COVID-19! Langley Pos-Abilities Society had to develop a policy where, because of COVID-19 we unable to deliver and pick up assistive devices. Everyone was hit with wondering how and how not to do business.
I felt terrible for Cindy because after hearing her trials and tribulations with her health and wanting some independence and freedom, I knew I had to get her the scooter because she had no one to pick it up. I had to find a way to make this happen. For some reason, I looked at the request form again and saw that Cindy’s address was only three kilometers from our storage unit. I thought, “Why can’t I just drive the scooter over there? I could sanitize the scooter, wrap plastic around it as much as possible and wear proper PPE and drop it off at the building in the lobby. DONE.
Once delivery of the scooter was completed on May 16, 2020, Terrell charged the scooter and said he would take Cindy out for a few times and make sure she could navigate and be able to ride the scooter on her own.
On May 19, 2020 Cindy rode solo to the local park and back home. She also texted me and said, “Now my independence and mobility have shot through the roof thanks to the motorized scooter and the amazing people at Langley Pos-Abilities Society!! Life changing, no joke! I can now go outside and get back in by myself. I can go to the grocery store, take my daughter to the park, and go for Slurpees at 7-11 in the summer.”
Langley Pos-Abilities Society is a non-profit volunteer supported agency that helps improve the quality of life for people with disabilities, including those living with mobility issues, hearing, blindness, plus many other conditions requiring assistive devices.
How can YOU help?
- Become a member of our society and become an ambassador
- Serve on the board of directors
- Volunteer as an event organizer
- Donate your time at our special events
- Make a cash donation
- Volunteer as a fund raiser
- Donate used equipment
- Recommend our services to a friend or a family member
- Volunteer your time and vehicle to deliver for the equipment program
If you have an assistive device that you want to donate, please fill out our Equipment Donation Form here.
If you need an assistive device, please fill out our Equipment Request Form here.
If you would like to donate financially, please use the form below: