WESTLAND, Mich. – A Westland man is getting some much-needed help after organizations came together to make his life easier.
Westland residents installed a new wheelchair ramp at the man's home.
On Saturday morning, Vic Barra and his team from the Wayne Ford Civic League worked to carefully put the man's new wheelchair ramp together.
“This one was kind of unique. A 65-year-old gentleman had a stroke three years ago, obviously was having difficulty with his mobility, getting up and down stairs. Well, he actually fell early in October and broke his hip. He’s currently in rehab,” said Barra.
He says he knew something had to be done after the man’s wife called the mayor asking for help.
“I was going to go look and see if we could actually build a wheelchair ramp for this resident, but when I got to the home, there were two problems: The porch was four feet high and the front yard was very small,” said Barra.
So he decided to install the next best thing, which he said is an electronic wheelchair ramp.
The wheelchair ramp cost more than $3,000. The police department, the fire department and the Wayne Ford Civic League all chipped in to get the wheelchair ramp built.
“Oh, I’m so excited. I can’t believe it, I’m still in awe,” said Donna Cunningham.
Cunningham said she knew something had to be done after her husband fell a few weeks ago. He is in rehab now but will be home soon, and she can’t wait until he uses the ramp.
“He’s probably excited to use it, too. It will be great. I can’t thank them enough,” said Cunningham.