MIDVALE, Utah — A week after a family in Midvale said their 11-year-old’s electric wheelchair was stolen, a group of local nonprofits stepped up to replace his chair, and threw in a couple of extra surprises to help.
“Overwhelmed, overjoyed, speechless,” said Jayson Bird, expressing his feelings seeing his son, Axton Bird, in his new electric wheelchair. "To watch our son have the independence and mobility that he deserves and have such a really awesome and cool wheelchair that he can grow into and have for many years to come, means the world to us and our family."
Axton is 11 years old. He has a rare genetic condition called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC) that makes it hard to walk around for too long because his joints are stiff and muscles are weak. Jayson said insurance did not help them get a wheelchair for him, so someone donated one. But that went missing from their parking lot last Tuesday.
NORTHERN UTAH
Electric wheelchair stolen from boy with rare condition
"When the wheelchair was stolen, we kind of hit rock bottom and all we were seeing was red and anger, thinking, 'How could someone do this?'” Jayson said. “But I had to remind myself and remind my wife and my family that sometimes God works in mysterious ways, and God brought these wonderful people to us.”
One of those people was Mike Felice, with Disabled Outdoorsmen Utah.
"The news popped up in my feed, and that was the first article that popped up about Axton, and I knew right away, I’m like, I knew who to call, we knew to reach out to Compassion Mobility," he said.
Felice saw our story on FOX 13 News, contacted us to get in touch with the family, and set the wheels in motion.
"Let’s don’t focus on the negative, let’s focus on the positive and what can we do to resolve this, and let’s get this young man a new chair,” said Felice.
A week later, they got Axton a brand new chair that he can control with his elbow. They invited the family last week to check out chairs and find one that works best.
They ordered the chair Axton wanted, and presented it to him on Tuesday. Kings Camo also stepped in and said they would fit Axton for hunting gear.
Huckleberry Hiking donated tandem hiking gear to make trails more accessible for Axton.
WATCH: This Utah dad helps thousands with barriers get into the great outdoors
“This is a big team effort for all of us,” added Felice.
People pitched in and collected $2,500 for the family to help with other expenses.
"It’s really rough out there, so stuff like this really helps so, so much,” Jayson said.
The family said they are grateful for all the love and support that helped make their dreams come true.
