WILD WHEELCHAIRS OF FREEDOM
Former International Disc Jockey & Stuntman John "TNT" Tingley, Knows only too well  the dangers and life changing experiences that accidents, illness , and just plain bad  luck at birth can mean to his fellow human beings. John, although not disabled himself
(although many may disagree!) has been close to hundreds of people who now find their lives forever changed.  Living in Florida USA John & his wife Jay realised that the thousands of  physically challenged peopled, longed for transport that was different and functioned much better than their basic wheelchair.

This website is dedicated to give people the opportunity to have their wheelchairs modified in all areas including mechanical and cosmetic, and at reasonable cost.

 

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John presents a very poorly but very appreciative Bruce in his hospital  
bed with his "pimped"   wheelchair in Kissimmee Hospital today Wednesday the 12th September 2007. The event was filmed by local top news station Channel 13 News.      Full Story Click Here
Click  Pictures to enlarge
www.wildwheelchairs.com
On Saturday, surrounded by family, friends and firefighters from Kissimmee's Station 11, Kenny Wallace wept as he looked over an electric scooter custom-made to look like a flashy fire engine.

"I just can't believe it," said Wallace, 45, a retired Long Island fire department volunteer dispatcher. "I just never imagined anything like this."

Wallace, who was born with cerebral palsy, had been without his chair for months after a garbage truck ran him over while he wasriding in the parking lot of his south Orlando apartment. He couldn't afford to buy a new one on his disability check. He had to use a regular wheelchair, but it was difficult to move around because his condition has affected the muscles in his hands.

Through a friend, he met John Tingley, a British-born former professional stuntman who has a knack for fixing anything with an engine.

"I just loved Kenny," Tingley said. "I loved his spirit, how he enjoys life. I knew I could help." Tingley had pulled apart, rebuilt and rigged dozens of motorized vehicles during a 20-year career that took him all over the world. As a stuntman, he had to do whatever it took to enable cars and motorcycles to arc off bridges, drive through flames or plunge into water.

Making it specialFixing Wallace's scooter was not that big a challenge, so Tingley sought to make it one."I wanted to do something special for him," he said. "The more I learned about him, I realized how much he loved fire departments."

Wallace comes from a family of New York firemen. Among his brothers are a fire commissioner and a fire chief. He loves rescue work so much that he regularly listens to emergency scanners.

Tingley knew he had his theme. Inspired by the MTV show Pimp My Ride, in which cars are transformed into works of flashy art on wheels, he went to work.

He painted the chair red and white, put on back and front shiny aluminum bumpers and a red canopy to keep out sun and rain. He turned a fire-hose nozzle into a headlight and wrenches into handles. He reupholstered the seat red and white, and sewed on patches from uniforms of Wallace's brothers.

Gift of freedom Tingley, who worked on the project in the garage of his Poinciana home, also installed a solar panel on the roof to prolong the scooter's battery, a CV radio, a police-and-fire scanner, a fan, and even a computer port for Wallace to charge his laptop and camera.

"I just think that if you are going to be stuck in a wheelchair, it better be a nice one," Tingley said.

The project is the second scooter Tingley transformed. Tingley, 48, said building more of these chairs is like a dream come true.

"You're giving someone freedom. I can't think of anything better than that."

Jeannette Rivera-Lyles can be reached at jrivera@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5471.
Telephone 407-879-3201

Kenny Wallace shakes hands with John Tingley in Kissimmee on Saturday as Wallace tries out the new set of wheels Tingley built for him. (JEANNETTE RIVERA-LYLES/ORLANDO SENTINEL / April 11, 2009)



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