RICHMOND, Va. — For 70-year-old Mary Smith, moving more than a few feet means an extreme amount of pain.
"Horrible. You know, sitting down is okay, but it starts the minute I stand up," Smith told CBS 6.
Smith is accustomed to walking, but has struggled to do so after being diagnosed with degenerative disc disease.
"I was diagnosed with that in 2005 when I herniated two discs that were both impinging nerves," she explained. "The most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life."
Because of the pain walking brings, the Richmond resident is extremely limited to where she can go and what she can do.
"Sometimes it's so unbearable that I have to sit down. So I really can't go and walk around outside," Smith said. "I luckily have a pharmacy that delivers my medications. Otherwise I'd be paying for an Uber to pay to get my prescriptions."
About a year ago she began looking for a power a chair, quickly realizing she could not afford a new one and saving enough money for a used one would take her years.
"I'm on Social Security. It's the only income that I have," she said. "Finally, one day, I was just so frustrated that I posted it on a couple of pages on Facebook. This man says to me, 'I have a chair, but I have no way to get it to you.'"
Feeling like her freedom is just an arms length away, Smith is now in need of help from someone with a wheelchair van or truck to bring her the chair from the man's home in Colonial Heights.
Having quoted the cost to have the chair moved and unable to afford that either, Smith says the power chair could change her life and is hoping someone in the community may be able to help her.
"You don't want to be stuck inside four walls all the time. That's no way to live, even if you're 70, 80 or 90, if you have the urge to be active, you should be able to be active," she said. "I've been imagining it since I moved here. What is that? What if I could just get around this neighborhood? I just want to see it."
The donated power chair is currently in Colonial Heights and would need to be transported to her apartment in Shockoe Bottom.
If you’d like to help Mary, email joi.fultz@wtvr.com or call 804-254-3684.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky| Facebook| Instagram| X| Threads| TikTok| YouTube
