Gibson, who is known for his love of the outdoors, said that being in a wheelchair made planning any outings difficult. Even when the destination was wheelchair friendly, he said he would often still be limited to paved areas, with even gentle lawns inaccessible.
“The outdoors aren’t made for wheelchairs,” he said.
Freedom Alliance President Tom Kilgannon said that they hoped the specialized wheelchair would turn that around, since it was designed with the intention that Gibson be able to enjoy outdoors activities such as hunting and fishing.
Freedom Alliance said that the wheelchairs it provides are customized to the needs of each recipient and feature tank-style treads to explore rough, uneven terrain.
Gibson said the chair would help him enjoy hunting, fishing, camping, or even just “mowing my lawn, even.”
“My entire life I like to spend as much time as possible outside,” he said. “If I’m reading a book I want to do it out in the yard, and now I’m actually going to be able to do that in places that aren’t right outside my front door.”
He particularly said he was excited to take his daughter out for her first hunting season this year. While talking about the work she had put in to prepare, Gibson said, “The fact that I’m going to be able to be the one to take her out and let her, you know, enjoy the result of that work is, that’s probably the most amazing thing about this for me.”
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
It wasn’t the only thing, though, as Gibson said that before the new wheelchair he hadn’t been able to carry his son places since he was a baby, and mentioned that both his children asked when they go out if he was going to bring his “tank chair.”
Gibson said that he applied for the wheelchair on the nonprofit’s website, got a call from the organization about his service and what he likes to do outdoors, and received a call back a few weeks later saying they would be bringing him a chair.
He described receiving the call as “unrestrained excitement,” saying that he was “Halfway between laughing, crying and hanging up the phone, because you got to be kidding me, right?”
Gibson said the he planned to test out the new chair’s capabilities, first with the upcoming deer season, but then at a friend’s rocky property in Tennessee and by trekking back out to fishing spots he had been unable to revisit.
He encouraged veterans and non-veterans both to reach out to Freedom Alliance, either to support the nonprofit or to ask for support.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
In a press release, Kilgannon said, “Paul served and sacrificed for our nation, and we are honored to present him with this unique chair. An all-terrain wheelchair like this is a game changer. It will give him freedom of movement, safety, stability, and much more independence. We give it to Paul with deep respect and admiration for his decision to serve our country.”
Speaking at the event, Kilgannon said, “I tell you what, when you’re able to help a veteran, and help them in such a significant way, so that he’s able to participate in the activities that he loves, and then show and participate with his children in those activities, that makes you feel great, and I wish that more Americans would have that sense of satisfaction of helping out a real hero.”
“To make his daily life a little bit easier, that means the world to us at Freedom Alliance,” Kilgannon said.
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