Donated van will expand options for disabled man
Published: May 5, 2005
Derick Gibbs is paralyzed from the neck down. He breathes with the help of a respirator while he sleeps at night, and for months at a time he’s been unable to leave the New England Sinai Rehabilitation Center in Stoughton, his home for the past 11 years.
Last Friday, though, Gibbs received something that he said will ”open up a whole new world” for him.
At a small ceremony in the parking lot behind New England Sinai, Gibbs officially received a 1989 Ford Club van, specially equipped with a lift and straps to secure his wheelchair. The van will allow family members to drive him to places he has not been in years.
”I can visit my daughter, my friends, and my family. I can get out and do things now, where before it seemed like I was trapped within these walls,” the 30-year-old said last week.
Gibbs was 19 the last time he felt so free. He and a friend were walking along a street in Brockton when they were targeted in a drive-by shooting. His friend was killed, and Gibbs was left paralyzed when a bullet struck his neck.
About three months after the shooting, Gibbs’ daughter, Chenelle, was born. Now 11 years old, Chenelle sees her father on limited visits, but with the help of his new van, Gibbs said, he will be able to spend more time with his daughter and the rest of his family.
”Kids don’t want to sit in the hospital, she gets bored, and I can’t get upset with her for that. Now we will be able to get out and do things together. It’s a good thing. I’m excited about it all,” he said.
The van was donated by the Pierce family of Winchester, with the help of the Boston chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. After John Pierce, who was left paralyzed from a fall in 1996, died two years ago, his family decided to donate the van they used to transport him. They contacted Mike Ferriter, a member of the NSCIA’s local chapter, and he created a way to determine who should receive the van.
An advertisement in NSCIA’s quarterly newsletter solicited applications from those who believed they could get the most use from the van. Ferriter said he received about 15 responses, and after reading through all of them, his organization determined the van would enhance Gibbs’ life the most.
”One of the huge things with [Gibbs] is the isolation,” Ferriter said.
Because the rental fee for a special wheelchair van is expensive, Gibbs has been able to leave New England Sinai only a couple times each year. Until now.
”This is just so great, I still can’t believe it. Now he can just ride to the park. This is a big step,” said Gibbs’ mother, Frances.
While at New England Sinai, Gibbs has spent his time following some of his favorite sports teams, and reading and writing poetry.
”I am a poetry junkie, I really am. I live it, breathe it, read it, and write it every day. My hope is that it will be published. I’ve come a long way with it,” he said.
With the help of his new van, Gibbs said, he’d like to go back to school and earn his GED. He said he also would like to start going to church with his mother on Sundays, and possibly get a job working with some friends at Easter Seals; anything, he said, to keep busy.
Although he ran into some trouble as a youth, Gibbs said, the shooting changed him in more ways than the obvious. He considers himself lucky.
”I am a believer in things happening for a reason. When I was younger I wasn’t always an angel, and I think I just needed to slow down a little bit,” he said.
”I’m very lucky on so many levels. I’m lucky I’ve been here so long . . . I have my mind, my health, and my family . . . now I just want to keep busy.”
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