Richard Nielson, a 90-year-old man, has donated his late son's wheelchair to a veteran in need. Nielson had been trying to find a veteran to donate the chair to, and on Thursday, he met 78-year-old Don. "It means a lot to me; I can't afford to buy one currently. I'll be able to walk my little dog, which hasn't been able to walk for quite some time and he just loves it," Don — who asked sister station KCRA 3 not to share his last name — said.Nielson said the electric wheelchair had been sitting in his garage for months."I think giving it to a veteran: We enhance his life. That's what I'm trying to do and this old man is going to really need a chair. He does," Nielson said. Nielson's son Roger was an Army veteran like Nielson himself. The two also served as medics."Roger was an amazing kid. He was 65 when he passed away, though, and he wasn't a kid anymore," Nielson said. Nielson said his son had a number of issues and suffered a stroke, which caused him to lose his entire left leg. He said in life, Roger had been a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) and later a businessman. Regardless of what he did, he always had a giving heart."He used to treat patients free. Diabetics, bandage them, and do all that free to his customers. That's the kind of person he was," Nielson said.Don, who is a Navy veteran, said the donation will help him get around, run errands and see friends."I can go see my neighbors if I want to do that, instead of having them come to see me," Don said.

BEND, Ore. — Patrik Nabelek lives with muscular dystrophy, but he loves to get outside.

“There's one thing to look at kind of nature stuff from afar, but it's another to kind of get really get in there," Nabelek said. "And so, I hope a lot of other people will get the same opportunity I have had.”

Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease that leads to muscle weakness over time, which is why he gets around in his power wheelchair.

“When I was younger, I used to do lots of outdoor stuff, like I used to go skiing and did some hiking and stuff," Nabelek said. "But then, as I got older and the disease got more severe, I couldn’t do that anymore. A real good change for me was when I got a nice power chair that allowed me to get out and go outside, like, go on kind of long walks on paved and stuff.”

The vast majority of nature trails aren’t paved, limiting Nabelek on his outdoor excursions until his mother, Anne Trehu, found out about AdvenChair.

“We’ve taken it to the coast. We’ve taken it on a number of trails around town here," Trehu said. "Narrow, muddy trails that were totally inaccessible for the power chair.”

AdvenChair is an adaptive, human-powered wheelchair designed to help people with physical disabilities get outside. The current design of AdvenChair is version 3.0. The first version was built in 2016. It was inspired and created by Geoff Babb.

“It means a lot for me, to me, to help people be outside,” Babb said.

Geoff Babb has experienced two strokes and now lives with quadriparesis, which means he experiences weakness in all four limbs. We first met him in 2020 when he was at the hospital for a medical emergency. Back then, there was only one AdvenChair. But now, 10 more have been built and sold to people like Nabelek.

“Despite all these setbacks, the pandemic and health and weather, we're really happy with where we are,” Babb said.

Now, there are AdvenChairs from coast to coast with one making it all the way to Machu Picchu. Babb says a couple from Los Angeles reached out to him with the desire to take the chair to the iconic spot.

“They were just ecstatic," Babb said. "Nelly is from Peru, but she’s never been to Macchu Picchu and so for her to be able to take Robert, her husband, who had a stroke, take him to Macchu Picchu in the chair, it was it's a big moment for them.”

Babb says they were able to use AdvenChair for everything—from getting on planes, trains, and buses to the Macchu Picchu trail. That’s one of the benefits of the latest design. It’s convertible to be used indoors and outdoors.

“We got this, in part, to travel to New Zealand, because power chairs and airplanes don’t mix very well, and with this front wheel off, it does serve as a regular wheelchair,” Trehu said.

As a professor in earth, oceanic and atmospheric sciences, Trehu says she hopes AdvenChairs can eventually help students with physical disabilities get out in the field for research. It’s something that could be happening very soon as Babb and his team ramp up for another production of AdvenChairs in 2022.

“Soon after the pandemic, we’ll get the chair out as much as possible and get more exposure and get as many smiles on faces as we can,” Babb said.
 

TAMPA, Fl. — Buses, trains and other modes of public transportation have to follow the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires people using wheelchairs can get around.

But the airline industry doesn’t have to follow those rules. They’re able to follow an older law: the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986.

Even though the act has been updated since 1986, many say it still doesn’t do enough to accommodate people with disabilities.

As more travelers are heading to the airport, now that COVID-19 restrictions are going away, there’s an even bigger push for the airlines to be more accessible to all, especially for those now in wheelchairs who served our country, like LTC Phil Price.

Price served in the Air Force his entire career. He traveled the world for decades, but his flying days were eventually grounded by his body.

“In 2000, Phil was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and he had already been primarily diagnosed with MS [Multiple Sclerosis],” said Phil’s wife of more than 30 years, Debbie. “The brain tumor affected the same motor areas the MS, so his mobility was greatly affected.”

Eventually, in 2009, his brain tumor came back. It was surgically removed, but the combination of cancer and the MS forced Price to begin using a wheelchair.

“It was advised that we don't treat the MS due to, that was the theory what was keeping his brain tumor at bay, so he did not take any treatments,” said Debbie. “So, the MS has slowly over time, that's what's kind of ravaging the body now.”

But Price’s body has some reinforcements: a custom wheelchair gives him the ability to move and to travel by car.

“The VA provides it, but it's about a $25,000 to $30,000 chair,” explained Price. “So, you're not talking about, you know, something that can be easily replaceable.”

Because of that, it’s forced the man who used to fly often to make a tough choice.

“We've chosen not to fly because of the risk of damaging the chair,” said Debbie. “We get off the plane, and the chair is damaged. There's nothing we can do about it at that point. I can't carry him. He can't walk. He can't transfer, so we would be stuck.”

The chair is one worry, but physical safety is another.

“They have to physically pick you up and put you into their airline chair, and it's just, Phil just doesn't want to go through that, you know, it's kind of humiliating. It's embarrassing,” said Debbie, turning to her husband. “I’m kind of speaking for you."

A study conducted by the wheelchair advocacy group All Wheels Up found that 80% of people using wheelchairs never even come to the airport because it’s just too risky.

The risks have become even more apparent since the federal guidelines changed in 2018, requiring that airlines report how many chairs they damage every single day.

The data revealed airlines are breaking and damaging an average of 29 wheelchairs per day. Law requires the airlines to pay for repairs and replacements, but there is no time constraint. This leaves many families fearful their absolutely necessary mobility equipment will be unavailable for just too long.

“I knew that it was a problem, but it was far worse than I thought it was,” said Price.

On top of the damage, accessibility throughout the airport and inside the plane itself is another barrier stopping would-be travelers in wheelchairs.

“Many people think that the ADA covers air travel, and it doesn't. The ACAA [Air Carrier Access Act], which was created four years before the ADA, covers air travel for people with disabilities, and so that's why there isn't a wheelchair spot on airplanes,” explained Michele Irwin, the founder and CEO of All Wheels Up.

Irwin and Alan Chaulet, a board member of the group, are working to get a wheelchair spot installed on new airplanes and usable bathrooms for people in wheelchairs.

“Some people with disabilities, like they don't drink water the whole day, they travel, they don't eat food just to prepare their bodies for that,” said Chaulet, who uses a chair himself and has experienced this firsthand.

“They cannot just book their ticket online like everyone else,” explained Irwin. “They usually have to call the airlines and book their ticket on the phone, let them know the airline that they're coming with a wheelchair, make sure that they're going to have somebody on staff at that time who has familiarity with handling a wheelchair.”

But changing accessibility could help those in wheelchairs feel less isolated.

“It's sad because, like, I missed my sister's wedding and my family went without me,” said Chaulet. “I missed some of my cousin's weddings. And, yeah, that's very tough. It shouldn't have to be like that.”

The Price family agrees.

“It'd be nice to be able to go in and have that freedom, have that freedom, not feel trapped,” said Debbie.

Irwin said more accessible planes could also save airlines money.

“One airline in 2016 spent $1.6 million on wheelchair repairs and placements,” she said.

A wheelchair spot would cut those costs and open the door to thousands of new airline customers.

“Now, that family, instead of driving to their destination, is now going to have that opportunity, which they never had before, to fly,” she said.

Bottom line aside, it’s equity families and advocates alike want to see.

“It's all about him feeling comfortable, him feeling like a human-like everyone else, not feeling different,” said Debbie Price of her husband. “It doesn't take just the people, the disabled people in the world to speak up to say we need better changes on the airline industry. It takes every day, normal people to speak up.”

For Phil Price, these changes would mean a trip to see his daughter living out of state in Atlanta, or the chance to go somewhere just for fun.

“New York or something,” he said of a place he’d like to visit.

And even though the day he will fly again seems far away, he has hope he will see the world from the air once again.

“Well, you have to have hope,” he said.

As the nation opens up and travel seems busier than ever, this family hopes every able-bodied traveler will recognize the luxury of being able to fly anywhere.

"I would hope that people would just be grateful that they have that freedom, because there's a lot of people that don't have that freedom. They've lost that freedom," said Debbie.