GRIT Freedom Chair for Steve Junso

On September 10, 2013, Steve was driving home after taking his neighbor to work. He called his employer to let them know he would be a little late as he wasn’t feeling well. That’s the last thing he remembers until waking up in a hospital room two days later.

Upon waking, Steve was informed that he had been in a car accident after dropping off his neighbor. His car had rolled 2 ½ times and had to be strapped down during the rescue attempt as another ½ turn would have decapitated him. His body was in the passenger seat, facing the floorboard with his legs in the backseat, and despite the Rescue Teams attempts to cut the vehicle, he could not be moved. A helicopter was dispatched to the field next to the accident where they removed him from the vehicle. He died twice on the flight to the hospital. He had broken his back, and in spite of the surgery performed while he was unconscious, he would never walk again.

Steve feels very blessed that he felt no pain, and does not remember the accident and the several days following. He marked his one year anniversary of living in North Carolina in the hospital. He underwent a month of rehab before his release on October 14, 2013. He spent that day saying goodbye to all of his friends he had made while living there and flew home to California the next morning.

After roughly three months of being back home in California, Steve slipped into a depression that lasted over two years – hardly getting out of bed each day. Some longtime friends reached out trying to help, and he joined them in a 5K for Breast Cancer in December 2015. Since then, he has gone a few places, socialized more, and is trying to turn his life around. Steve still suffers chronic leg pain and has learned to deal with it, but the years of depression took their toll. Steve had gained 70 pounds, making it hard to exercise and get back into shape.

Steve’s friends, family, classmates and everyone he’s touched over the years with his friendly smile and quick witted sense of humor would like to help him purchase a GRIT Freedom Chair . This special wheelchair is designed to be all-terrain and was developed at MIT. The freedom a chair like this provides will help him get back out in the world where he can socialize, exercise, and heal his depression. Steve looks forward to being able to go on rides with friends and accomplish his goal of losing the weight by being more active.

We hope you will consider a monetary donation to help Steve meet those goals, and get him back where he belongs – out of the house and feeling better. The base price of the GRIT Freedom Chair is $3,000 and we hope to raise enough to cover the cost of the chair, shipping, taxes and fees for the crowd funding service. Please – donate what you can. Any amount will help us reach that goal and get our friend back on the trails.