ATLANTA — A Channel 2 Action News viewer who wants to remain anonymous arranged for and paid for the Shepherd Center to provide a new custom motorized wheelchair for a metro Atlanta Army veteran who was the focus of a Channel 2 Action News Investigates story.
“I just thank God that you listened to me. I reached out to everybody, my Senators, Congresspeople, everybody. And everybody turned a blind eye to me. If it wasn’t for you coming out, I don’t know what I would do,” Lisa Groves told Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray.
In January, Groves told Gray how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs refused to replace her broken wheelchair with another motorized device.
Groves has been through three mobility devices in three years.
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The VA blames her, writing in a letter denying her request for a replacement power wheelchair, that there is evidence of abuse of previously issued devices totaling about $33,000 on equipment and repairs.
“The director said you don’t get a new chair. You had too many chairs. They don’t hold the vendors responsible,” Groves said.
But a Channel 2 Action News viewer, who wanted to remain anonymous, saw that story and reached out to the Shepherd Center to get a custom chair built for the veteran and to cover all the costs.
“I want to tell veterans, don’t give up. You’ve got to fight. I’ve been an advocate for 34 years, and I had to fight hard for myself. Don’t give up. Don’t let people tell you no,” Groves said.
Now, after months of being limited essentially to inside her apartment, Groves said she is ready to be out in the world again.
“I feel like I got my life back. I feel a human being again,” she said.