Meet Jacob McWhorter. Jacob has been in a wheelchair since 2014, two years after he was officially diagnosed with mitochondrial myopathy due to exposure to a chemical agent. The symptoms of mitochondrial myopathies include muscle weakness, heart failure or rhythm disturbances, dementia, movement disorders, stroke-like episodes, deafness, blindness, limited mobility of the eyes, vomiting, and seizures. Jacob could barely move or feel anything when he visited the VA seeking a diagnosis and some relief. 

 

After a few years using the standard-issue, 52-pound clunker of a wheelchair the VA had issued him, the front wheel fell off but Jacob fixed it the best he could. The VA eventually condemned his wheelchair, but while awaiting a replacement months later, he was informed that he no longer qualified for one. Jacob’s wife reached out to Wheelchairs for Warriors for help and we were able to fit Jacob with a new wheelchair made of titanium that only weighs about 14 pounds. That’s really close to the weight of an M4 service rifle. OORAH! Jacob is now able to chase his kids around and play outside with them and his dog.

 

Before Wheelchairs for Warriors came along, Jacob was distraught and depressed and contemplating suicide. “In two weeks, Wheelchairs for Warriors was able to do MORE for me than the VA had done in four years,” said Jacob, “I cannot thank them enough for the blessing of mobility they have given me.”