An Edmonton family is saying thanks to a pair of Good Samaritans after they helped carry a six-year-old boy, and his wheelchair, home.
Matthew Gessner has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair to get around. On Friday, snow blanketed the Edmonton area, making it difficult for Matthew to wheel home from school.
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Mom Shannon Ranger said the one-kilometre walk typically takes between 15 and 20 minutes but the snowfall hampered the walk.
“The thickness of the snow and the wetness of it caused it to be almost impossible,” she said.
Ranger said she tried to push Matthew through the snow but his wheelchair kept getting stuck.
A man nearby came with a shovel to create a path on the sidewalk, she said, then a couple blocks later, another man offered to help the group get Matthew home.
The two men picked up Matthew and his wheelchair, together weighing roughly 90 pounds, and carried him approximately 300 metres back to the family’s house.
“I had never experienced anything like that before,” Ranger said.
“The fact the people even noticed us blew me away. I was very appreciative and I don’t even know how to begin to thank them for what they’ve done.”
Ranger said the men didn’t give their names or exchange any information but she is thankful for their help.
“The Good Samaritan and the positivity they brought out to show humanity is still good,” she said.
“It doesn’t take very much to show that you care. It doesn’t take very much to just do something to help somebody else. It could change their entire day or week or, for that matter, year.”
Ranger said Matthew was amazed by the encounter and could not stop talking about it the rest of the night.
“I said thank you because it was actually very nice of them, what they did,” Matthew said.