Shelton vet gifted with electrical wheelchair

Three years ago, Shelton resident Kim Kenyon was standing on a ladder replacing boards to put a roof on his shop when "my ladder up and left me," he recalled.

The 10-foot drop shattered his foot.

"I was looking at the bottom of my shoe after it busted," he said.

The U.S. Army veteran, who has lived almost all of his 74 years in Shelton, spent almost three years in a manual wheelchair, which was "cumbersome," he said.

"I had to take down the bathroom doors," he said. "I kept running over my wife's toes."

The bones didn't heal well because the screws kept them apart, Kenyon said. Traveling to his rehabilitation sessions in Shelton was difficult, and he needed his son to push his wheelchair.

But on Monday, Kenyon's fellow vets with Disabled American Veterans Chapter 60 in Shelton presented him with an electric wheelchair at the 40 et 8 in downtown Shelton. They purchased the chair at a silent auction at the state DAV convention.

Alan Riddle, commander of DAV Chapter 60, said the chair was funded by the group's annual Forget-Me-Not fundraiser, the Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll fundraiser in Belfair, and donations from residents, a group of local golfers and a car club.

"I was kind of astounded because I didn't think anything like that was possible," Kenyon said.

Kenyon served with the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1970, first in artillery, then the infantry, and then artillery again.

Kenyon said his life was "at a standstill" until he connected with fellow veterans.

"I can't say enough about my group," he said.