Brandon Qualls uses a wheelchair to get around. The hand-push model he had been using for years was becoming a pain for the Caddo Hills High School senior. “My arms would get really tired,” Brandon told News9 TV.
Always There for Each Other
However, Brandon’s struggles didn’t go unnoticed by his friend Tanner Wilson. Tanner spent two years of savings (from working part-time at a car mechanic shop) to buy Brandon an electric wheelchair and surprised him with it in front of his classmates.
“They came in and my face just blew up,” Brandon told News9. “I was just crying everywhere. I was like, ‘Wow I can’t believe he did that for me.’"
“It’s been my dream to just have one of these,” Brandon added. “And my dream came true.”
Watching the friends, it’s obvious how tight they are.
He’s just been a really good friend and I wanted to do him a favor. I just felt like I needed to do it. … Brandon, he’s just always been there for me.
Tanner Wilson to CNN
Deserving Recognition
Colleen Carmack, Tanner’s mom, told CNN he has been uplifted by all the media attention and smiles when he reads messages people have posted online about his good deed. She says the boys have been friends for years and that she’s proud of them.
“They both deserve the attention because they’re both great and wonderful kids,” she said.
But she says she’s not at all surprised.
That’s him. He’s always been about everybody else and not himself.
Colleen Carmack to CNN
She said Tanner has “had some bad experiences over the last year, so 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.”
True Friendship
Ginger Wray, one of Brandon’s teachers, contributed to the surprise by tricking out the chair with orange flames on the fenders and his last name on the back.
“It’s awesome,” Brandon told News9, adding that he’s still getting used to driving his new wheels. “I may hit a few doors, but it’s worth it.”
Tanner said he wishes “people would care more about others, than just themselves.”
Well, his enormous act of kindness is setting a good example.
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