Matias’s New Wheelchair Will Help Him Follow His Dreams
Meet Matias and His Family
Five-year-old Matias and his parents, Patricia and Joel, live in the Dominican Republic. Before Matias was born, both Patricia and Joel had settled careers, and planned to work once they had children. When they learned they were pregnant, they were thrilled!
But everything changed when doctors gave them the news: their son would be born with a spinal cord disability. Grief and fear overtook the joy they first experienced when they’d found out about the pregnancy. They found themselves asking…
“Why would God allow this to happen? How could this be part of his plan for our family?”
Patricia and Joel’s dream for what their family would look like was dashed. Still God stirred in their hearts, preparing them for the blessing Matias would be in their lives.
Adjusting to Life with Disability
When Matias was born, life for his family changed in significant ways. Instead of furthering her career, Patricia became her son’s primary caregiver. She now structured her life around Matias’s weekly medical appointments and ongoing needs.
Navigating the unique challenges of disability put new strain on Patricia and Joel’s marriage.
But they held fast to their hope that God would never leave or abandon them on their journey.
When he started going to school, Matias became aware of his disability in a new way. He began asking questions about why he is different from other children in his class. Because his school could only provide an oversized wheelchair for him to use—which offered little mobility—Matias often had to sit on the sidelines watching his peers.
Matias’s parents looked for ways to teach their son about God’s power, wisdom, and goodness whenever he asked difficult questions. At the same time, they ached for their son to experience belonging and inclusion.
Patricia prayed often for God to provide her son with the wheelchair he needed.
God answered her many prayers through our Joni and Friends Wheels for the World distribution in the Dominican Republic.
Patricia and Joel were overjoyed to learn that Joni and Friends distributes refurbished wheelchairs that are custom-fitted to their recipients by experienced seating therapists and mechanics. However, just as they were about to leave for the distribution, Patricia received a phone call. There were no more pediatric chairs left! Patricia got off the call and immediately began weeping. Her tears turned into a simple prayer:
“God, he needs this!”
As she prayed, God reminded Patrica of his promise found in James 1:17:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above…”
An Answer to a Mother’s Prayer
The next morning, Joel and Patricia picked up Matias and brought him to our wheelchair distribution despite the fact that pediatric wheelchairs had run out. After all, a wheelchair of any size would be better than none at all—and it would be a gift from God. Little did this family, or the volunteers know… there was one yellow pediatric chair left, folded and hidden in a corner!
Can you imagine the surprise and joy that lit up the room when the yellow pediatric wheelchair was found?
Our team placed a delighted Matias into the chair and found that it fit him perfectly. Patricia’s gratitude to our team, and to God, overflowed:
“You have changed my family’s life. We have tried to find a wheelchair that fits Matias, and it is so difficult and so expensive. This is an answer to prayer. I have been asking God for so long for this chair. You just have no idea what it means.”
New opportunities for Matias opened up that day…
Now that Matias has a custom-fitted wheelchair, he and his family can explore new horizons. They can shift energy to doing what they love, like making music.
In his wheelchair, Matias can more easily work on learning guitar so he can play along with his mother and father. And one day he dreams of becoming a drummer in a Merengue band.
His wheelchair will make it possible for him to follow his dreams.
Best of all, through our Wheels for the World outreach, Matias and his parents saw God’s goodness in a new and tangible way. They will never forget the generosity of their Heavenly Father who gives every good and perfect gift.
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