WHY WE HELP
Interview with Alternatives in Motion Founder: Johnnie Tuitel
"It wasn't the surgery or the time it took to recover that opened my eyes to a new reality," Johnnie Tuitel (pronounced title) said. "It was the fact that mobility for people with disabilities really isn't an important issue to most other people."
After successful corrective surgery for Johnnie, who has cerebral palsy, he faced eight months of intensive rehabilitation. "My physician determined that I required a special rigid bucket wheelchair, instead of the folding type I had been using."
New chair—no problem, right? Wrong. Johnnie's insurance provider wouldn't OK the new equipment. They had a one-chair-per-one-lifetime policy—typical with many insurance companies.
Flat on his back in a hospital, Johnnie felt frustrated. "Though I had the private means to buy the chair I needed, I wondered how many other people out there faced the same issue—only without any financial resources."
Johnnie had a lot of time to think about it and formulate a plan. Spurred by the idea of helping others, Johnnie put his fundraising experience to work. Alternatives in Motion began to take form. But first, he had to lay some groundwork.
"Through my research, I discovered there was no area or state agency that provided financial help in these situations. I also discovered that many people were in the same situation as I had been. While it is true that some agencies will repair equipment or provide wheelchairs on loan, none specifically help people acquire new, specialized equipment."
In 1995, all the planning, research and organizing became a reality. Alternatives in Motion raised some money and gave away two chairs. One of them was to a woman whose wheelchair had all but fallen apart. Another was to a little girl with spina bifida, whose only means of mobility was crawling army-style across the floor.
"I don't think most people know how precious mobility and independence are until they lose them. When our very first recipient saw her new wheelchair, the look on her face said it all. It's that look—the one of utter gratitude and hope and joy—that makes all the hard work of fundraising worth it. It's why we do what we do—just for the satisfaction of seeing ‘that look'."