An Alabama man who uses a wheelchair made it to the beach for the first time in his life, AL.com reports.
David Thomas had not left the area where he lives for more than two decades until a friend asked him to go to the beach.
“The last time I went anywhere I was 15 years old. This . . . it was like a dream. Like something I didn’t want to wake up from,” Thomas told AL.com.
Thomas’ friend Izas Fuller invited him to go with his family in Panama City this week.
“It just brought tears to my eyes because I never had anyone to take the time to do anything for me because of my being in a wheelchair,” he said. “God has blessed with me some real friends. I’m just the . . . luckiest guy to have him in my life and for him to really want to help me.”
Friends donated money to Thomas so he could rent a motorized wheelchair that would be better suited for the beach.
“Every day since I’ve been here I’ve just been enjoying the beach riding there in my chair and taking it all in,” he said.
Check out the heartwarming video below of Thomas on the “best summer vacation” of his life.
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Teddy is a multimedia journalist who serves as the culture and political writer for EBONY. His work has appeared in NBC's Owned and Operated stations, as well as DNAInfo, which covered local neighborhood news in New York City. He received his Masters in Journalism from the Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY in 2017.