Steve Michael Rolls On
Steve Michael, II is back and rolling up to 10 miles per hour thanks to the kindest of donations.
The 29-year-old quadriplegic who resides at the Retreat Nursing Home was in desperate need of wheelchair repairs when the goodness of strangers intervened. Without the use of his motorized wheelchair, Steve would otherwise be strictly confined to his bed which only allows him to view the outdoors instead of experience it. And those who know Steve also know that would reduce him to an existence devoid of life’s simple pleasures.
In August 2000 he had a life-altering automobile accident that rendered him paralyzed while his passenger walked away unscathed. With a broken fifth vertebrae in his neck, he remembers hearing a doctor tell his wife to call the rest of the family because he wouldn’t live 12 hours.
Well that was 3 years, 8 months and one $30,000 set of wheels ago.
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Following three weeks in a Summerville hospital and a three-month stay at Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta, Steve was ready for the new ride of his life.
He remembers being miserable trying to adjust to life in a wheelchair, years ago. That misery was almost revisited recently when the threat of not being able to use his wheelchair arose.
In nearly four years of use, his wheelchair had not had any maintenance and the lack thereof was slowing its productivity.
His father Steve Michael and grandmother Florene Michael, both of Jasper County, and the facility didn’t have the funds to cover the repairs estimated at $2,500 and insurance didn’t apply in this situation, so Retreat personnel took to passing the word.
Hospital physical trainer Terri Burner, who Steve has trained with 5 days a week for two months, began making calls to companies to inquire about ‘creative financing’ for the repairs. However, most were reluctant to render any services without payment up front, she said.
And then along came Bridgeman Mediquip, Inc. of Macon. Owner Chris Bridgeman was more than willing to work with the facility to get Steve back on the sidewalk. Mr. Bridgemen made two visits; the first was an inspection to assess the problem and the second was for repairs.
With the first hurdle cleared, Retreat personnel including administrator Donna Holman, certified nursing assistant Elizabeth Williamson, and bookkeeper Cathy Benson began working on the finances.
Donations were sought from area churches and anyone willing to give. Meanwhile the largest donation began with a quiet evening at home with the Bensons. Mrs. Benson shared the dilemma with her husband Jerry “Stumpy,” a employee of Nalley Motor Trucks Bodyshop in Atlanta. Within a matter of days company manager Brian Lockett presented the facility with a cashier’s check for $1,100.
The check arrived just in time for Mr.
Bridgeman’s second visit and was enough to insure new tires, arm rests, leg rests, tilter switch, framework and a battery for Steve’s wheelchair. The repairman threw in a bonus when he had the parts shipped overnight, covering that cost himself, so that Steve could make the trip to his family reunion in style.
It wasn’t long after that when donations from the Lighthouse Mennonite Church, Jordan Funeral Home, Calvary Methodist Church, and Wiley & Clydie Jordan were received. With those donations there’s no longer a need now for the benefit bake sale previously planned for Saturday on the Square, according to Mrs. Holman.
Steve is more than delighted to have his wheels restored and has committed to writing personal thank you notes to all the donors, a feat largely made possible by having his chair readjusted.
In addition to thanking the donors and the repairman, Steve expressed a huge thanks to his Retreat family. In 2002 he relocated to Monticello to live with his family and came to live at the Retreat that same year following treatment in the hospital for a miscalculated overdose of pills intended to relax a pain in his neck.
“It was my choice to stay here. I like it here. It’s very clean and everyone takes good care of me,” he said.
Not to mention it’s a convenient location for him to do the things to which he has become accustomed such as visiting downtown on nice days and checking out Hurricane softball and baseball games just down the road.
Though confined to a wheelchair Steve is definitely not defined by it. With therapy he’s learning to write and feed himself, not too bad for a man given 12 hours to live. He has designs on walking someday, too.
“Doctors said I wouldn’t move my arms again but I am. I don’t care what doctors are going to say, the Lord is going to heal me.”
(Steve Michael’s recent need for assistance is unique but not rare as a resident of the Retreat. Several other residents have unfulfilled needs, though not as extensive, and the facility’s whirlpool is in need of renovation. Any persons with medical equipment no longer in use are encouraged to donate such goods in return for a tax deduction. The Retreat is located at 898 College Street.)
