MEMPHIS, TN – Memphians opened their hearts and wallets to help a little girl they didn’t even know.
Many people drove out to an ABC24/CW30 Eyewitness News fundraiser at Los Compadres Restaurant, Wednesday, November 19, 2008, to help Annabelle Hulgan buy a new wheelchair after a crook took her chair. One man dropped $2,500 in the donation box, which will go a long way to help the family to buy the new $8,000 chair.
The outpouring of compassion was so overwhelming that even a homeless man put his $2 in the box.
More than $3,000 in donations were taken at First Tennessee Bank.
Annabelle’s mother, Christen Hulgan, expressed her gratitude to everyone who gave to help her child. “Thank you so much to Memphis. It’s overwhelming. When we called in for people to be on the lookout, we had no idea that it would turn into this. We’re overwhelmed and it’s just amazing. I don’t have words for it. Thank you,” said Hulgan.
Annabelle’s family says any money above what it will cost to replace the wheelchair will be used for the 5 year-old’s life-long medical expenses.
Annabelle Hulgan was born with spina bifida and is paralyzed from the waist down. Unless someone holds her in their arms or pushes her in a stroller, the wheelchair is the only way for Annabelle to get around on her own.
Police say the $8,000 custom wheelchair was stolen from the front yard while Annabelle’s caregiver was carrying her inside the home.
Caregiver Jackie Jackson says, “When I first came out to get the chair, I said maybe it’s in the car. Then like an idiot, I looked under the car. Then we looked on top of the car. We looked everywhere!
Annabelle has her own theory of what happened. The five year-old says, “Somebody pulled in that driveway and came up here and stole it.”
Police told Jackson it looks like someone tried to steal the license plate off her neighbor’s car and when that didn’t work they went for the next easy target, Annabelle’s customized wheelchair.
Christen Hulgan says after the theft of the wheelchair, Annabelle, “Just kept crying saying why would somebody do this to me? Why would somebody want to hurt me? Why would somebody bad do this to me? Her nanny Ms. Jackson says, “She’s upset because they’ve taken part of her. They’ve taken her legs.”
Mom says, “She doesn’t want somebody to carry her around. She doesn’t want to be in a stroller she wants her wheelchair.”
When asked the crook needed to do with her wheelchair, Annabelle simply answered, “Give it back.”
Annabelle’s wheelchair took six months to custom fit and design for her special needs. The wheelchair cost $8,000 and the family told Eyewitness News they could not afford to replace it.
Police say Jackson found the wheelchair Tuesday while driving around the neighborhood searching for the stolen chair. She says she found it in pieces in a box.
The company that designed Annabelle’s wheelchair said that it could not be repaired.
If you would still like to donate and help pay for some of Annabelle’s medical expenses, just go to any First Tennessee Bank location and ask to donate to the “Annabelle Wheelchair Fund”.
