When you lay eyes on Keishera White, try not to notice that she uses a wheelchair or that she's had cerebral palsy since birth.
And try not to limit what you believe she can achieve.
Just ask her dad!
“She graduated from Thomas Nelson, and she also graduated from ODU, then from Thomas Nelson again,” says Roscoe White, Keishera's dad.
Keishera, her friends call her Kei Kei, was raised from a little girl to be independent she lives in her own apartment.
Now in her early 30's she's working to add her list of academic achievements by obtaining a Master’s at ODU.
"Yes, I take care of my education also, education is really important to me,” says Keishera.
One of her first degrees was celebrated in a Thomas Nelson Community college news release.
That's when she obtained one of the most important tools that gives her independence - her wheelchair accessible van.
All that changed on New Year’s Eve when gunshots rang out.
The bullets struck and shattered the windows of Kei Kei's van. The damage it caused was more than broken glass.
The van, like her wheelchair, means everything to Kei Kei's independence.
"I do everything, I go pick up my medicine, doctor's appointments, shopping,” says Kei Kei.
"I saw it and it hurt my heart, and it really hurt,” she says.
While the damage hurt her heart, the repair bill to replace the broken windows produced a number that neither Kei Kei, nor her parents could absorb. Two thousand dollars may as well have been 2 million for this family.
"We don't have that kind of money,” says Gwendolyn White.
We turned to Doug Wornom who owns the Van House in Hampton!
We offered to pay a thousand dollars if he picked up the rest! He didn't hesitate to say yes!
"We accepted what you are paying and dropped the other part of the charge on our part, this wouldn't have happened without you guys,” says Wornom.
The real payoff was seeing Kei Kei come into the shop, without burden of a big bill, and to see her tears of joy.
The windows were replaced and now it’s as good as new. It was a team effort. That was not lost on Kei Kei who brought thank you cards to express her gratitude.
