Shriner Noble Bill Phillips was recently in San Antonio Tlayacapan to have his car fixed. While in the workshop he noticed a young man without legs working by pulling himself from place to place around the shop on his knees.
Phillips learned that Mauricio was 22 years old. He had owned a wheelchair but it had become worn out from use on the cobblestone streets.
Because of his age Mauricio was not eligible for treatment at any of the 22 Shriners Children’s Hospitals. Almost everyone knows that the Shriners help children in the United States, Canada and Mexico. However, these services are limited to kids aged to 17 years old.
So Phillips contacted local Shriners on an individual basis to see if funds could be raised to get Mauricio a proper chair.“The response was overwhelming,” said Phillips. “We actually raised more than enough funds to privately purchase a ‘rough terrain’ wheelchair (actually manufactured in Mexico).”
In the next step, Phillips began looking for a person qualified to measure a patient for a wheelchair.
Keith Sofka of Cargonne and Associates came forward and donated his time to do the measurements. The order was made, the chair manufactured and delivered to Queretaro to a friend of the Shrine Club President, Noble Cesar Rubio, who brought it to Ajijic.
The chair was finally presented to Mauricio during the first week of June.
Mauricio is doing well and enjoying his new chair and the mobility that comes with it. Those involved with the project proved that when a problem is identified and folks come together to generate a solution, good things can happen.