Brandon Qualls received a big and welcomed surprise when his friend, Tanner Wilson, presented him with an electric wheelchair. Until now, Qualls has been using a push model chair.
The two are students at Caddo Hills High School in Norman Arkansas.
Teen buys wheelchair for friend with his own moneywww.youtube.com
For years, Qualls has used a manual wheelchair to get around. However, it's very difficult to use so regularly.
He told THV11,
"My arms would get really tired. I would have to stop and take rests."
Little did he know, his friend Wilson was saving money from his part-time job at a mechanic shop to buy him a motorized chair. It took him two years to save the money.
He presented it to Qualls at school on February 27th.
This is the action of a great friend!
When asked about it, Wilson said,
"I wanted to do him a favor. I just felt like I needed to do it and I wanted to do it… Brandon, he's just always been there for me."
Wilson's mother, Colleen Carmack, spoke on her son's generosity, saying,
"That's him. He's always been about everybody else and not himself. We let him know, you get nowhere being mean."
She feels the experience and goal have definitely helped her son after some "bad experiences."
"Him being able to help somebody else has really brought him out -- being able to know that he made a difference.
"And I can see a difference in him -- like wanting to get out and do more. We're talking about college. He's had that goal, but he's talking about it more now."
It's definitely much better to be a nice person.
Wilson surprised his friend with the chair at school. And for the moment, it's there it will stay. Qualls' family doesn't have a vehicle that can transport the electric chair.
Until his family can get a wheelchair accessible vehicle, Qualls is getting used to using the chair at school.
"It's awesome. I may hit a few doors, but it's worth it."
Wilson is also asked by other students if it was worth saving for two years to provide his best friend with the expensive chair.
"Everybody keeps asking me, 'Was it worth it? Was it worth it?' Yeah. 100%."