HOUSTON – It’s early in the morning and Katherine Walls of La Porte is already working hard, giving her husband David a sponge bath in the kitchen.
Since 2011, both Walls and her daughter, Lea Ann, have had to do just about everything for David, ever since he was paralyzed from the chest down in a horrific automobile crash with a college student who was texting and driving.
“This girl was texting on her cellphone. She pulls out of a parking lot without paying any attention and my dad had to slam on the brakes to avoid T-boning her and potentially killing her. The braking threw my dad forward and it broke his neck in several places,” Lea Ann said.
Now paralyzed and a quadriplegic, David, a once strapping, strong, hardworking, truck driver now relies on a wheelchair for mobility, unable to do the things that used to bring him joy.
“The hardest part is just knowing that I can’t walk. All I do is sit in this chair or lay in the bed. I can’t do nothing," David said with tears welling in his eyes.
To make matters worse, for the last two years, David’s wife has been struggling mightily to care for her husband, who has three pieces of essential equipment that are broken and not working properly.
One of those pieces is a Hoyer lift that is meant to lift David out of his wheelchair and into his hospital bed.
The lift was always hard to operate. Kathy had to pump it up by hand, a process that usually took more than an hour, but now it doesn’t work at all.
Next, David’s power wheelchair still rolls, but doesn't do anything else that David needs. It doesn’t tilt back, or recline well, and it can’t be raised from one height to another. In fact, David has to have his legs strapped to hold them together in this chair.
And finally, David’s hospital bed, meant to elevate his head and feet and move into positions to relieve the pressure on his back, is broken as well, and does nothing.
The cost of replacing all of these desperately needed items was way beyond anything the Walls could ever hope to afford.
Even with insurance, the Walls were told they would have to pay $10,000 out of pocket to replace the items.
That’s when Lea Ann Redd wrote to Spencer Solves It.
Right away, KPRC2's Bill Spencer started trying to work with different companies and charities to get David all three of the devices that would make his life easier.
But time after time, Spencer was turned down.
“We can’t handle all of that,” was the phrase Spencer kept hearing.
Finally, after six months, Spencer was able to put everything together and get David what he and his family have needed so badly.
A beautiful, state of the art, power wheelchair, that rises and tilts and reclines in every possible position, more than what David had dreamed of.
“This chair is so much more comfortable for me and I can do so much more with it. I can even reach the kitchen cabinets now, all by myself, to grab my medicine, a drink, whatever I want,” David said.
A brand new Hoyer lift, electric powered, so it can be operated with a push of the button.
Now Katherine won’t have to break her back trying to lift her 250-pound husband into his bed at night.
And a brand-new, electric powered, hospital bed which also can be controlled with the touch of a button and can put David into any position he wants.
“Thank you, I feel so grateful for you, that you have come along to help us. We are truly blessed. I thought it would never happen and I’m so blessed for you. Thank you so much, Bill,” Katherine said.
If you need help with a problem you can’t possibly solve by yourself, contact Spencer Solves It at 713-223-TIPS (8477) or email us at solvesit@click2houston.com.