Red Deer man receives electric wheelchair from people who saw him struggling

A Red Deer man who could only get around by pushing himselfbackwardon a wheelchair with one foot received a brand new electric wheelchair this week and a new lease on freedom, thanks to community efforts.

"I had no idea it was a gift from the Lord Jesus himself,"Mark Rowlessaid to CBC Calgary's Terri Trembath. "[My foot] get's pretty sore."

Rowles is a familiar facefor Red Deer locals. He often comes into town to enjoy a coffee and wave at passersby.

He is wheelchair bounddue to a snowmobile injury and a subsequent heart attack and stroke.

A localtattoo artist, Jeff Jones, befriended Rowles and would often stop to chat with him on his way to work at Ink'd Gunz tattoo shop in Red Deer.

"I would bring coffees and talk to him. And I started hearing his story and realized he wasn't a bum. He is a normal guy that just ran into some bad situations. So I sat and I said to my roommate, I said I got to get him an electric wheelchair," said Jones.

It takes a village

Jones posted a call for help on his personal Facebook page on Aug. 24, and within a week someone in the community came through with an electric wheelchair for Rowles.

"It will make [everyday life] so much easier," said Rowles. "[Jeff] is the greatest, that's all I can say."

Lisa Begin, a former nurse, saw Jones's call for aid on Facebook, as Jones is her tattoo artist in Red Deer.

Moved to action, she began calling former contacts in the field to see if they knew of anyone selling a motorized chair.

"It just killed me watching [Rowles] always pushing himself backwards and not being able to see what's going ahead of him," said Begin. "You know, he'd fall out of his chair or knock himself over. It just hurt."

Generous donor

The model of electric wheelchair Rowles received has a control switch on the arm, instead of in front, so he can operate it with his usable hand.

Begin estimates new it would retail at around $5,000, and"used ones are going for $1,600-1,800."

The chair was purchased for $400 with monetary contributions from Jones's old friend, James St. Michael,who saw the post. The person selling the chair even lowered their price after hearing who it was for.

Jones then outfitted the chair withwinter tires, a padded seat and a coffee holder, "for when he ventures out."

"I was completely amazed, it was just incredible. I thought it must be a gift from the Lord Jesus," said Rowles.