An Ashland quadriplegic has a new wheelchair thanks to generous community giving

After 12 years, Jerry McGill’s wheelchair has logged its last mile — and it’s a good thing, too.

After hauling the 36-year-old Ashland man through a host of countries and countless cities, the old chair barely rolled.

Shot ball bearings, a cracked frame and a bad tire were the most dangerous problems. A missing footrest and a duct-taped seat cushion added to the dilapidation.

But on Friday, McGill parked his old perch forever, sliding instead into a gleaming purple wheelchair paid for and provided by strangers.

"Man, this is something, I’ll tell you," said McGill, who was featured in the Mail Tribune’s annual "Light One Candle" holiday series on Christmas Eve. "It feels great. "

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Staffers at United Seating & Mobility in Medford fussed over McGill for a few minutes, fine-tuning fittings and unwrapping the plastic from the new wheels.

By early afternoon, however, the quadriplegic with the long dreadlocks, silver necklace and incandescent smile was on his own in a new $2,500 ride.

"It feels like I’m sitting up straighter," said McGill, checking out the Quickie 2 ultra-light chair. "It’ll feel better going down the street."

More important, the new chair will help the man injured by a stray bullet in 1982 maintain independence and mobility without the worry of a worn-out chair.

Nearly 30 Mail Tribune readers donated cash or offered previously used wheelchairs after reading about McGill, a client of Mobility Unlimited, a Medford nonprofit agency.

"I grew up in a pretty dangerous part of New York," said McGill. "The Lower East Side."

He was 13 and walking home from a New Year’s Eve party in his neighborhood when a car drove by, a shot was fired and a young life was forever altered.

"No one knows who or why," McGill said.

The bullet struck McGill in the back of the neck, leaving him with no use of his legs and only limited use of his arms just as he entered adolescence.

"While other kids were going out partying, I was kind of learning how to live my life over again," he recalled.

McGill credits doctors at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York with infusing him with determination early on.

"I do really lean toward the positive," he said. "I don’t wallow in the negative."

McGill always had wanted to perform, so he studied to become a screenwriter, actor and filmmaker. He moved to California to attend UCLA and be close to the entertainment industry. He wrote a screenplay that he said made it to the final round of the Sundance Film Festival’s screenwriting lab. He wrote, produced and directed his own short film, "That Summer of Purple," about a paralyzed dancer and the woman who helps him.

McGill moved to Oregon nine years ago and to Southern Oregon more recently. He works as a customer service representative for Harry & David in Medford to pay the bills and finance his art.

McGill was at Southern Oregon University’s screening of "Purple" when he met Glory Cooper, executive director of Mobility Unlimited.

Cooper said she chose him as a holiday candidate because of the dangerous state of his chair and because of his dynamic personality. Response to his need began as soon as the Dec. 24 newspaper was out.

"My cell phone just went off all morning," she said.

McGill was touched by the community’s generosity.

"It gives you a renewed sense of what the world is capable of and what people are capable of," he said.

The people who helped McGill get his chair figure it’s the start of a new era of success for him.

"I’m looking for you on the big screen," John Evans, a rehabilitation technician said.

McGill grinned, and then asked Evans to load the old chair in the van.

"I’m going to keep it in my friend’s garage for old time’s sake," he said. "Maybe it’ll go in the Smithsonian when I’m famous."

Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail jaleccia@mailtribune.com