At the Hero Days Concert, Robert Irvine introduced Karen Risser to the community as one of the recipients of the iBot wheelchair. The moment had so much value to the army veteran Risser.
“This is an opportunity to provide for my daughter. This is recognizing that I am a veteran and that I did serve. Veterans in the community, they all come together and support each other,” Risser said.
In 2008 on her way to drill, Risser fell asleep at the wheel and suffered a spinal cord injury. Since then, she's had to relearn how to move through the world and other veterans have been a part of her story.
“I went to college at Edinboro University. There were other veterans with spinal cord injuries. At the time that I went to college, I hadn’t accepted that I was going to be a person with a disability. . . That experience at the wheelchair games was huge for me and my transition to accepting the disability and really learning to be a person with a disability,” Risser said.
The iBot wheelchair gives her more mobility in different environments.
“This chair can go in the sand, it can go in the snow, it can go up and down the stairs, and I just did my first curb. I haven’t gotten to go up the stairs, but going up and down a curb -- I can't do that in my manual chair,” Risser said.
The night was filled with music, food, and a chance to support an organization doing good for those right here in our community.
“It's heartwarming. It’s awesome. Robert came out and he talked to us. It helps the veterans. It helps the school teachers. It helps everyone. I honestly didn’t realize how big of an organization it was. People were telling us stories of how he helped other people and it’s just heartwarming and we’re just excited to be here,” Sand Shouse said.