Dave –

I snapped this pic of Choey on the patio this past weekend. We painted the front deck and he was able to help a lot b/c of the new chair – he says he doesn’t know how he ever made it without it!!  Thanks so much!!

Gena

Jeff’s chair had not been running in about a year. I managed to get one of the controller boards installed and got most of the drive system hooked up again by 2:00 pm last Thursday, which gave me one hour to take a shower, get dressed, and go with Jeff (driving his chair finally) in time for my father’s wake at 3:00 pm.

Best wishes
Richard

Hi David,
 
I just got home from the hospital and uncrated the beach chair.  It’s REALLY nice!!
Thank you again, I know that Jeff will enjoy it for a long time to come.
 
Warmest Regards,
 
Kelly 

Hi;
Thank you so much for this chair I hadn’t noticed the back on Thursday but later saw mt sticker on the head rest and oh so awesome O2 holder which I needed now I don’t have to sling so many bags over the chair as it fits my “b” tanks I took it out last night it is slower than my original chair but it definately gets me there and back safely. Thank you again it is so awesome and I got to meet you face to face. You are a gift from God keep up the great work.
Lanette

Hi David,

Justin, my wife Georgia, and I want to thank you again for coming to our rescue with the wheelchair you provided. Justin has been using the wheelchair at Spaulding while the therapists there continue to make adjustments to personalize the chair to his needs. Thanks to you, Justin will soon be ready to move onto the next stage of his recovery beyond Spaulding. He (and we) are thrilled with his new chair.

Dave, you are a wonderful human being who provides a great service to people who often fall between the cracks of our healthcare bureaucracy, or worse, become targets of greedy medical equipment businesses. We look forward to meeting with you again. Right now we are still thinking of purchasing the wheelchair as a backup. We will be in touch.

Warmest regards,

Nick

Lima – Peru, august 3, 2009

Hello, my name is Alvaro Cardenas Lomparte, I’m 47 years old, and I live in Lima Peru. Due to an accident I am paralyzed from my neck down (TETRAPLEGIC} since 1990. I have a lesion in my spine in the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae and I can’t move my arms and hands.

I had never considered the possibility of being able to have a powerchair, because I did not have the sufficient money for it. I had a normal wheelchair and it was necessary that someone was pushing me when I wanted to move. But in a resources guide of the foundation “Christopher and Dana Reeve” I knew about the organization “Wheelchairrecycler”. In May 2006 I wrote to them asking for help, and Mr. David Heim had the gentility of answering: “We can donate to you a powerchair”.

After three years I could obtain the way of bringing the wheelchair to Peru. Then I wrote again to Dave and he said to me: “We are still willing donate to you a powerchair”, and a few days later: “We have great news! We found the perfect chair for you”.

After the coordinations and bring the powerchair to Peru I had it, and met the surprise of which it was a chair with reclinable back seat and tilt, really the perfect chair for my needs and like new.

This wheelchair has made me feel free again, I feel as if he had returned my legs to me. Thanks to the “Wheelchairrecycler” begins a different life for me.

It has been an honor for my to know a person as Dave.
May God bless you and continue with this extraordinary work.

Thanks you very much.

Sincerely
ÁLVARO CÁRDENAS L.

March 20, 2009

I have had the pleasure of working with David Heim as a physical therapist at the New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Unit at Boston Medical Center.  David has been a key figure on our resource list for several years.  As a hospital that treats all individuals regardless of their ability to pay we often work with people without medical insurance or the financial means to acquire medically necessary equipment. 

David came to us one day and offered his services as a “wheelchair recycler”.  It all seemed too good to be true, but alas, it was true.  David remarkably pieces together old wheelchairs both power and manual and donates them to people in need.

Personally, I have worked with two people who have received expensive power wheelchairs from David at no cost.  The impact his generosity has had on these individual’s lives is tremendous.  To provide an individual with paralysis a means to be mobile is invaluable.  I still see one of the patient’s for therapy and not a session goes by that she doesn’t say how much the wheelchair has meant to her and her family.

I am honored to know and work with someone as generous and kind as David Heim.

Sincerely,

Molly Sebo, MPT

hi dave,
last summer i got an elec wheelcahir from you for free.
you answered my plea with such compassion and grace.
my hubby donny came to you to pick it up and showed him how ot work it etc you said it needed a battery..and my hubby said no problem..he told you about my situation and was concerned i would need a seatbelt..you handed him a velcro strap bright orange you had handy. well it works.
i spoke ot you on the phone and you were concerned i might need a larger chair. you told me i had the right to sell the one i have and get what i need.
i volunteer my time helping failies in need furnish their homesespecially those families moving out of shelters etc.
this past year i have seen many challenges with my health.
i am determined to get back out there in the world with the help of my chair.
i thank you so much for understanding and having the compassion to help others. your gift to me was the road ot my independance.
thank you dave..
god bless.
patti

We live on a rural farm with our daughter Hayley.  I was impossible for her to be independant and go a round the farm on her own.  When we went for walks on the back roads we had to push her in stroller that was not suitable at all for her.  Eventually as she grew it got to hard and we simply stopped going out as a family for walks.  I had searched the internet and found a couple of power chairs that I thought might handle farm life but they were so expensive it was just not an option.  One day I was searching through craigslist for something entirely different and found this picture of a crazy looking wheelchair with knobby tires.  I sent off an email inquiring about the chair and the rest is history.  Meeting Dave Heim has been one of the best things that ever happened to my family.  We ordered a Trail Boss wheelchair and let Hayley choose her custom design.  During the build Dave would email pictures of the work in progress.  When the chair was finished we went to Dave’s and met him for the first time.  Hayley had never driven anything before and was pretty intimidated but Dave taught her how to drive it in a few minutes.
Since then Hayley has enjoyed the feeling of cruising around our farm. And not waiting for her parent’s to come push her around is the best thing of all.  This summer Dave gave Hayley a track driven wheelchair that he had built for himself.  We took it to the island where we take our vacation and Hayley for the first time in her life was able to go beachcombing and clam digging with her cousins.  She had never been able to negotiate the sand in her wheelchair.  Needless to say Dave Heim is super hero in this house.  Hayleys Ipod is loaded with pictures of her and David at his shop testing wheelchairs.  He is one of a very small group of people who has had such a huge impact on Hayley’s life.  Thanks to you Dave and all your supporters.

John needed a chair to maintain his mobility & independence and Dave provided a chair that was an excellent match for his needs at a price we could afford.

John has had his chair for 3 years and he loves it! Thanks Dave!
Your friends,

John & Shapleigh