Surprising a friend with a customized wheelchair
Thirty-three-year-old K.C. Chapman has found a place where everybody knows his name. Most days he zips down the street in his battery-powered wheelchair to hang out with the regulars at the Illinois Avenue Bar and Grill in north Spokane.
“He’s the unofficial greeter at the Illinois,” said Chapman’s sister, Kelley Opperud. Chapman has cerebral palsy and cannot walk or speak, but his physical limitations haven’t diminished his outgoing personality or his knack for making friends.
A few weeks ago, some of those friends decided to do something special for Chapman’s birthday. Dan Horton and Don Belcher teach at the Spokane Skills Center. They met Chapman at the Illinois and grew to admire his amiable disposition and determination to be one of the guys. As a special birthday surprise, they decided to use their talents to jazz up Chapman’s ride.
Opperud describes her brother as “a 15-year-old boy in attitude and interests.” She said, “He likes music, chicks and sports. He loves fast cars. He’s a speed demon.”
He has two wheelchairs, because it takes a while to charge their batteries, and he hates being without wheels. Chapman was told his chair needed some maintenance work, and the fellows at the Skills Center had it brought to the school without his knowledge.
Horton teaches automotive technology, and Belcher, who teaches collision repair, spearheaded the transformation. Chapman had already given them plenty of inspiration. Horton said, “He’ll pop wheelies when you get him going. It’s like the ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ coming through the parking lot.”
They fashioned fenders out of diamond-plated chrome. Belcher said, “I’m the painter guy. I thought flames would brighten things up.” Bright red tongues of fire shoot along the chrome fenders on the back, and yellow and orange flames are carefully detailed along the sides.
More help came from Skills Center instructor Dennis Koentopp. His wife works for an upholstery shop. She replaced the worn leather seat and stitched “KC” in a cloud of flames on the backrest.
And what man’s ride is complete without the sexy silhouette of a full-figured lady? Thanks to graphics teacher Terri Haworth, Chapman’s fenders are adorned with the shapely shadows.
After they’d worked on the chair for several weeks, the big day arrived. While Chapman sat at a table sipping his Mountain Dew, Horton rode the blazing chariot into the tavern and stopped in front of a very surprised Chapman.
Horton said the excited young man couldn’t wait to get into the refurbished wheelchair. “I thought he was going to leap into my lap,” he said and chuckled.
Chapman’s guests at the birthday party were baffled when he suddenly left the tavern. “He took off for home and showed all the neighbors,” Horton said. Then he returned to celebrate.
Kelley Opperud said although her brother can’t speak he has ways of making his feelings known. “He does this kind of tribal yell when he thinks something is awesome,” she said. “He showed his chair to every single person who walked in that night.”
The reason the folks at the Skills Center wanted to do something special for Chapman is simple. “He’s a good guy who is just kind of stuck in a hard place,” said Horton.
Seeing Chapman’s reaction was worth every ounce of time and effort they’d poured into the project. “I thought it wasn’t a big deal,” said Belcher. “But when I saw K.C.’s face and his reaction, it gave me goosebumps.”
Those who know Chapman best said no gift could have been better for him. “He just wants to be cool like all the guys,” Opperud said. His mother, Virginia Chapman, said she almost cried when she saw the chair. “It’s just really something that’s K.C.,” she said. “It suits him. The Skills Center folks are wonderful – they thought of everything.”