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The SCOOTER Store Donates Power Wheelchair to California War Hero, a Purple Heart Recipient
Gift of Mobility Lets Terminally Ill Vietnam Veteran Regain Mobility and Independence
Ventura, CA — Tough odds have never stopped Anthony Radonski. He has survived the rain forests of Vietnam and now battles the 4th stage of lymphoma. Immobility, though, has tested the 60-year-old war hero’s spirit like nothing else—until today when The SCOOTER Store delivered a free power wheelchair to him.
To make the gift, The SCOOTER Store partnered with the ADL Foundation of Arizona (www.adlfoundation.org), a non-profit organization that helps uninsured adults obtain mobility equipment. Mobility Manager Edgar Palacios from the Los Angeles distribution center of The SCOOTER Store delivered the power wheelchair to Mr. Radonski today.
His wife, Kathleen Radonski, proudly looked on as the chair was delivered within weeks after she called The SCOOTER Store for help. She saw their television advertisements and asked for help for her husband who “lacks money and insurance to pay for the chair.”
Ms. Radonski believes the power wheelchair will also ease her burden. She is his sole caregiver and “works hard to keep up his morale.” Ms. Radonski said her husband was “so frustrated by his dependence and immobility.”
Mr. Radonski had always been active, even after surviving a bullet to the hip and shrapnel to his neck and head that he received while fighting in Vietnam’s Kontum Province with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He was awarded a Purple Heart. Mr. Radonski spent the next 20 years working full-time. He then was diagnosed with lymphoma; the disease has aggravated his war injuries so much that he can no longer walk. Confined to his home, he desperately misses getting out of the house and visiting friends. He is “very excited” to have the new power chair and looks forward to “doing his own thing.”
Doug Harrison, CEO and Founder of The SCOOTER Store, said, “Mr. Radonski has sacrificed for his country and we are pleased to have the opportunity to help him. We are honored to help this war hero regain his spirit through mobility and independence.”
Mr. Harrison and his wife, Susanna, started the Gift of Mobility program in December 2002 to help people like Mr. Radonski improve their quality of life by improving their independence and mobility. Since then, the outreach program has worked with organizations around the country to donate power wheelchairs, scooters and manual wheelchairs valued at more than $200,000 a year to individuals and community service organizations, enabling them to provide freedom and independence to people with limited mobility.
About The SCOOTER Store
Since 1991, The SCOOTER Store has helped provide freedom and independence to more than 500,000 people with limited mobility. The SCOOTER Store offers a full line of durable medical equipment, including power wheelchairs and scooters, lifts, ramps and accessories in 48 states. The SCOOTER Store has worked with more than 203,000 physicians, providing expertise and quality service to their patients, and is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care.
