Mobility for Orlando Reed


UPDATE:

With the generous donations from many people, including the family of Leonard Somers, we have achieved our goal of providing Orlando with a wheelchair-accessible van and motorized wheelchair.  We now hope to raise an additional $1,000 to cover his costs of ongoing medical care and other life expenses.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Orlando Reed is a hero who paid a steep price for saving the life of a woman he had never met.

Orlando is an unassuming, soft spoken, 52-year-old Colorado native.  His life changed dramatically in January 2015.  He and some co-workers went to an Aurora sports bar one evening after work to shoot pool and enjoy a beer. Later, as he was walking home he spotted a woman walking towards him and he could tell something was wrong.  As she came closer he saw that her face was covered in dried blood.  She was disoriented and terrified, so he escorted her several blocks to the hotel where she was staying.

He learned that she had just left an abusive relationship and was staying at a hotel until she could figure out what to do.  Orlando helped her into her room and was helping her clean the blood off her face when her boyfriend showed up, tried beating down the door, then broke the window to her room and began firing shots into it. One of the bullets hit Orlando in the back, paralyzing him from the waist down. 

The assailant, a five-time convicted felon who was later sentenced to 192 years in prison for this crime, ran away. The woman told Orlando that she was sorry, and, unbelievably, left without helping him or calling police.

Orlando lay bleeding on the hotel room floor for over seven hours.  When police arrived, they found him barely alive. He was rushed to a hospital and survived.

Most recently, Orlando was living in a nursing home that was not equipped to handle a paralysis patient. A caregiver at the facility, after getting to know Orlando and understanding his plight, generously let him move into her modest condo to care for him.

ANY contribution is greatly appreciated. Please help this hero get his life back on track.