Community Impact - Social Need & Health
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A New Lease on Life
Ron Hutton can hardly wait for spring. "I'm going to take in some baseball games this year," he says with a smile. "I can just ride down to the ballpark now." As a matter of fact, Ron looks forward to every day now, with a new lease on life in the form of a brand new scooter. "I call my scooter my life extender," says Ron.
The scooter is one of eight provided to Lethbridge residents by the Easter Seals March of Dimes through a grant from the Lethbridge Community Foundation. Having driven nearly everything on wheels before health problems slowed him down, Ron had no trouble passing the driver's test and taking his scooter home.
"It has made a world of difference in my independence," he explains. "Before I got the scooter I couldn't even go downstairs in the apartment building without getting help with my wheelchair. And by the time I got there I was too exhausted to enjoy being with people. If I needed a loaf of bread I'd have to impose on friends or wait until my sister visited from Picture Butte."
Glancing at the shiny red scooter near his apartment door, he grinned. "Now I just hop on my Harley and go!" The electric scooter, complete with headlights carrying basket, and horn, is easily maneuverable indoors and out. Ron finds it much more useful than his wheelchair. "Now I can keep up with everyone else."
Ron talks about becoming more involved in activities in his apartment block, heading off to musical jam sessions at the Nord-Bridge Senior Centre [he plays guitar], and working to improve his fitness level. "The scooter has provided me with an incentive to get out and do more. I can do so many things now that I couldn't do before. I'm very grateful to Easter Seals and the Lethbridge Community Foundation for coming to my aid."
From LCF Report to the Community 2002
Updated September 2009
www.lethbridgecommunityfoundation.ca
403.328.5297 office@lethbridgecommunityfoundation.ca 404 8th St South
