Wade Townsend, a fourth-grader at Heritage Academy Elementary School, loved hiking with his siblings and hunting with his grandfather when he was younger.
In 2022, Townsend noticed that he was having more difficulty walking because of a birth defect in his spine called spina bifida. After being taken to Children’s of Alabama hospital for a MRI and a spinal surgery, he lost his ability to walk, he said.
“It is not uncommon for kids with spina bifida to have to have multiple surgeries,” Lauren said. “And so he just had a lot of scar tissue, and so that caused some differences with the surgery and left (Wade) a full-time wheelchair user.”
After applying earlier this month, Wade and his family received the news Tuesday that he was selected to receive a track wheelchair, which will help Wade hike and hunt again, through Southern Outdoors Unlimited’s program in partnership with the Outdoor Ability Foundation.
Spina bifida can occur anywhere along a baby’s spinal cord when the tissue around a baby’s spine doesn’t close properly during early development. The condition can lead to spinal cord and nerve damage, which can limit a person’s mobility, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since his birth, Wade has been through more than 20 surgeries, and about five of them dealt directly with his spine, Lauren said.
“My spinal cord would get twisted and (doctors and surgeons) would have to go in there and resituate my spinal cord,” Wade said.
Since becoming fully wheelchair dependent, Wade has noticed some difficulties not only in trying to go outdoors but also even in some areas in downtown Columbus that don’t have ramps, he said.
“We have a beautiful downtown, but it’s been around for a while,” Lauren said. “… If there’s not a lot of ramps, then that makes it difficult to get around and we’ve had some issues with older buildings where there’s not good access, and it prevents us from being able to go in there.”
Wade, after a 2022 surgery, said that he dealt with some disappointment because the wheelchair he uses now can’t deal with rocky or sandy surfaces, which took away his ability to go and see things like creeks or go hunting like he used to.
“There were sometimes I had a hard time (with the change),” Wade said. “But I had to push through it.”
Wade continues to stay active and have fun playing in a wheelchair basketball league and playing with friends, but he’s excited to not feel as limited in what he can participate in, he said.
As part of the deal with the Southern Outdoors Unlimited, Wade’s family had to fundraise $2,000 of the total $12,000 for the chair, Lauren said.
Wade decided he would sell fidget toys made on his 3D printer to help with the fundraising efforts. But after Lauren posted the effort to Facebook, it only took 24 hours to exceed the fundraising goal.
“His dad was like, ‘We’re gonna go on a hike,’” Lauren said. “… We’re excited to be able to do some of those things that we haven’t been able to do as a family.”
Lauren said they’re expecting to have the new wheelchair by January.
Exploring the great outdoors
Southern Outdoors Unlimited is a nonprofit that organizes outdoor recreation activities like hunting and fishing for children with disabilities, according to the organization’s website.
“Our mission is to take kids with disabilities and get them in the outdoors. We want kids of all abilities just to be kids,” said Alan Mumbower, Southern Outdoors Unlimited board president. “… Those children all need and deserve the opportunity to be able to enjoy the outdoors like so many of us have been blessed with.”
As part of the group’s efforts the nonprofit partners with Outdoor Ability Foundation for SOU’s track chair program which has already given out 12 chairs, including Wade’s, to children this year, Mumbower said.
Mumbower said the group hosts annual events like their outdoor adventure day and different hunts for children on private land around Mississippi.
“To be able to, give that opportunity back … touches us more as an organization than it does for the kids,” Mumbower said. “… We want kids to be kids, and we want them to be able to enjoy their backyards, and be able to enjoy the outdoors, whether it’s hunting or fishing or whether they’re just simply just getting outside or going to the beach for the first time.”
Mumbower said the organization is always in need of volunteers for their events and land owners to host their events. Those interested can register at southernoutdoorsunlimited.org.
Families with children in wheelchairs interested in applying for their track chair program or others who are interested in becoming a sponsor of events by the nonprofit can send an email to [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
