Two weeks ago, Darren Johnsonbaugh lost his freedom.
“Other than people coming to get me, I’ve been pretty, I’ve been homebound,” he says.
His electric wheelchair was stolen earlier this month. That chair was his sole form of transportation after accidentally being shot in the back about five years ago, paralyzing him.
“This is my legs. I mean, it’s my legs, my car, it’s my life support,” he says.
After seeing the story on NewsChannel 3 last week, several viewers offered to help – one of those was William Collins Jr.
He had an extra electric chair and wanted Darren to have it.
“I personally know that it’s not very fun trying to get around without having something to help you with,” William said. “I’m really glad I could be able to help out.”
NewsChannel 3 took the chair to Darren’s house on Tuesday.
After a few modifications, he was off.
“Oh, I’m grateful. I mean, I’m able to get back out and go and do things,” Darren says.
And he’s not the only one excited to move around again. His five-month-old puppy, training to be a service dog, is ready to get out of the house too.
“He’s gonna love it. Now I can take him out running and jogging. He`s gonna be happy, I know I will cuz I`m tired of getting bounced on,” Darren says.
He’s still hoping whoever took his chair will bring it back, no questions asked. It has special features that he says help him out.
But until then, he’s got his freedom back and is thankful someone took action to help make that happen.
“I greatly appreciate it, I mean, they don`t know how much they helped me out, this helps me get out and about and like I said, I`m grateful ,” he says.
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