DICKSON, Tenn. (WKRN) – You never know what someone is going through in life, it could be good or bad, but for Susan Scates and her son Travis, it was a random act of kindness that would change their lives.
“My mom was in the last few days of her life and they called and said you need to get home,” said Susan Scates.
So she packed up her car with her son and started driving from Raleigh, North Carolina to Duncan, Oklahoma.
Initially, she had planned to stop in Jackson, Tennessee, but she got hungry and decided to stop in Dickson, Tennessee along Interstate 40.
“Out of the corner of my eye I saw the sign for a Cracker Barrel and just took the exit,” said Scates.
After eating, Susan says her son was using his manual wheelchair to look around the store and that is when she met a man that would bring a smile to her face.
“There was a gentleman standing there with his wife and he approached me and he said ‘How does your son like his wheelchair?’ and I said we don’t love it,” said Scates.
“We are looking to get him a new one. He said, ‘would you like a power chair for him?’ And I said ‘yes, that is where we want to go with him eventually’ and he said ‘no, would he like a power chair because I have one and I would like to give it to him’ and I was stunned.”
Scates didn’t know this man, or know why he would randomly want to give her a new power chair.
“What do you say to something like that?” said Scates.
She had to continue on to see her mother, but she was able to get her brother to pick up the power chair a few days later. She said when Travis found out he was beyond excited.
“When we told him he was going to get a power chair the first question is ‘does it have a jetpack?'” said Scates.
“For his life and circumstances, he is limited and so for us and him it was this stranger who was able to give something that adds such value to him. It is very meaningful to us and incredibly meaningful to my son as well.”
Scates said she was also able to tell her mother about what happened before she passed away, which meant so much to her.
As for Travis, Scates said he is already planning long outdoor adventures with his new power chair.
The man who donated the power chair wanted to stay anonymous.
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