An Arkansas teen is now navigating the halls of his high school more easily thanks to a new wheelchair that his friend bought him after saving up for two years.
Brandon Qualls, a senior at Caddo Hills High School in Norman, Arkansas, used a manual wheelchair to get around for years.
"My arms would get really tired and I would have to stop and take rests," he told KTHV-TV.
Qualls’ friend, fellow student Tanner Wilson, took notice. Wilson decided to replace Qualls’ manual wheelchair with an electronic one. He spent two years saving money from his job working part-time at a local car mechanic shop to buy a motorized wheelchair.
Recently, Wilson finally procured the wheelchair he worked so hard to buy. This week, he surprised Qualls by presenting the wheelchair to him in front of his friends.
Qualls was thrilled.
“They came in and my face just blew up … crying everywhere … just, like, ‘Wow, can’t believe he did that for me!’” Brandon said.
One of Qualls’ teachers even decked out the chair with orange flames and “QUALLS” spelled out on the back of the headrest.
Wilson told local media the effort was well worth it.
“He’s just been a really good friend and I wanted to do him a favor,” Wilson said. “Brandon, he’s just always been there for me.”
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