It's enough to make a grown man cry!
"I can't express how much I really do appreciate, you know,” says Larry Girven as he wipes away tears.
These were tears of joy after days of rain.
Larry Girven says the rain reminds him of a storm of bad luck two years ago that changed his life .
"A gust of wind come along and blowed me off the roof,” says Girven.
He was on the roof helping his mom remove tree limbs and lost a limb in the process.
But make no mistake, Larry Girven is a proud man. He maneuvers his motorized wheelchair like it’s an extension of his body.
He is an amputee with a partially paralyzed arm, yet fiercely independent.
That is, until his lifeline, the lift that allows him to drive his van gives him freedom of movement, had a problem.
Living on a fixed income, Larry couldn’t afford the repairs.
His neighbor and friend, George, uses the hand crank to get him in but with no one on the other side of his destination, he can’t get out on his own.
Larry told NewsChannel 3’s Barbara Ciara his story, hoping for a break in his personal storm.
"I watch Channel 3 all the time,” he says. "I called you up, you all got back in touch with me and it made my day really. You all are like my last resort, you know what I mean?”
After a rainy day, we hoped to deliver a little sunshine in the days ahead.
We started by calling the good folks at Ride-Away Handicap Equipment Corporation.
"Here it gives me the opportunity to actually do something to make a difference in someone's life,” says Norman Pataky, Ride-Away General Manager.
"By helping one person unconditionally, you're helping build your community to make it better,” says Mark Lore, the Ride-Away President.
We struck a deal! NewsChannel 3 would pay for the parts, and Ride-Away would pay for the labor. And Larry’s van was given a buff and a shine for good measure.
Larry came into the repair shop thinking he was going to get hit with a bill. Instead, he was hit with a surprise from Corporate President Mark Lore.
"Well Larry, when we heard you needed labor, basically the repairs done on the vehicle, we didn't even hesitate, we immediately said 'we'll do it.'"
So now this van and this man who's been through so much sees better days ahead.
"It’s been a long time since I had anybody do anything that good for me,” says Larry.
"If it weren't for you all and NewsChannel 3, I’d never, I don't know what I would have done.”
As Larry drove away, he regained his independence and his faith in the goodness of people.
We’re taking action and getting 'Good News' results.
