Like any 20-year-old, independence is important to Aries Key Anderson, but the past few days haven’t been easy.
He says someone stole his walker from outside of his aunt’s house in Regina after he went to bed last Sunday night.
“When I found out it was gone, I was hurt,” Key Anderson said. “I was shocked, angry, hurt — I was full of mixed emotions.”
Key Anderson was born with cerebral palsy, which affects his muscle movement and control. But he says his walker gives him freedom and mobility.
“I use that walker for everything and everywhere I go,” Key Anderson said. “When I don’t have my walker, I tend to get a lot more exhausted easily and I fall lots.”
In an attempt to track down the thief and give her nephew back his independence, his aunt took to social media.
“I could just see the heartbreak in him,” Candace Macaulay said. I was kind of shocked that someone would steal a walker that doesn’t fit anyone else’s needs.”
It didn’t take long before a walker was donated, but still, it doesn’t quite meet Key Anderson’s needs and abilities.
“We’re ever so grateful and thankful for it, but it’s still causing pressure on his hip,” Macaulay said.
Now the community has rallied together, raising more than $500 through GoFundMe, enough to purchase a custom walker.
“It’s such a blessing to have such great people out there,” Macaulay said. “Everybody who is out there still looking for the walker thank you, we really appreciate it.”
Going forward, the plan is for Key Anderson to get fitted for his walker this week, with the hopes of picking it up within the next two weeks.
“It means the world to me that I’m going to be getting a new walker soon,” Key Anderson said.