Five-year-old Maverick Middleton went up and down his new wheelchair ramp again and again after a team of high school football players came straight from practice to build it.
Maverick, from West Portsmouth, Ohio, has spina bifida, which affects his spine and mobility. He needs a wheelchair, so getting up and down the stairs to his home had become a struggle.
When a pastor at a local church heard about his need for a ramp, members of the congregation offered to help. The trouble was manpower, because building it with just four people would have been difficult in the summer heat.
Then Max Newsome, an 18-year-old senior who plays for the Portsmouth West High School Senators football team, heard about the project and stepped up to help.
Max recruited nine more of his teammates, and after practice on July 13, the group headed over to Maverick’s home to get to work.
“The cars started piling in – so many football players came to help,” said Maverick’s mom, Tabitha, 38.
The work took up most of the day, Max said, and Maverick found his own way of joining in.
“My son was able to sit on the porch and watch them,” Tabitha said. “He even had a toy hammer so he could pretend he was working.”
Once the ramp was finished and Maverick took it for a spin, the team enjoyed the look on his face, Max said.
“I still tear up because of how excited he was – it was the best thing in the world seeing him so happy,” Tabitha said.
She said the family’s story has traveled well beyond their own street since the build. “It spread over social media fast, and we even get recognized while we are out in different towns.”
