Amputee involved in crash back moving again thanks to scooter donation
Amputee Paul Harrison has regained his independence after a kind-heated woman donated a mobility scooter to replace one damaged in a crash.
Paul, aged 75, from Walsall, was involved in a collision with a car as he crossed the slip road on Station Road, Pelsall, on a Sunday morning more than one week ago.
He lost his right leg after a blood clot and operation in 2017 and for the past four years has relied on his mobility scooter, bought for £1,500 by family and friends, to go out and mix in the community.
However, his independence was shattered by the loss of his scooter and the trauma of a collision more than a week ago in Station Road.
Following the collision a passing district nurse pulled over and tried to help and a passing police officer also went to his aid.
After his heart-break story appeared in the Express & Star, kind-hearted Eileen Johnson, aged 70 from Darlaston, got in touch to say that she was sorting out her late brother's estate. As a result she had a mobility scooter, a power-chair and other items he could have free-of-charge.
Eileen said: "My brother, John Brown, aged 72, from Bilston, died on December 16 last year.
"He was also an amputee and had worked as a radio operator in the Royal Navy for 15 years and the Royal Fleet Auxilliary for 14 years.
"He served in the Falklands and The Gulf and then we ran The Happy Wanderer pub in Bilston together for 20 years.
"When I read about Paul, who had been a lorry driver and who was an amputee, I realised there were similarities as my father was a lorry driver.
"My brother John was also an amputee.
"I was touched by the similarities and decided to offer the scooter and other items to Paul."
Sheree Smith, a 54-year-old former dental nurse who has been Paul's carer for the past five years, said: "He was already isolated because of the Covid situation and the mobility scooter was the only bit of independence he enjoyed to get him out and able to mix in the community.
"Paul is well-known and well-liked and was a lorry driver all his life and does not even get a disability allowance.
"He is delighted by the very kind gesture of the offer of the scooter and other items."
