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Renault joins forces with Gowrings Mobility to help make a family's dream come true
When Gowrings Mobility, the UK's leading supplier of wheelchair passenger cars, was approached by ITV1's This Morning to make a family's dream come true the company was delighted to be able to help, with the support of Renault, by donating a specially adapted wheelchair accessible car to the family. To mark its first week back on air, This Morning launched a 'Dreams Come True' special, where they made someone's dream come true. From thousands of entries, the television programme noticed Terry Rodger's letter, saying that his family's wish would be for a specially adapted vehicle. In 1996 Terry Rodgers travelled from Belfast to Kenya to work in an orphanage, where he met Simon, then aged 6, who had cerebral palsy. The two became inseparable, and when the time came for Terry to leave, Simon became very distressed. When Terry returned, he told his parents about Simon and they decided to adopt him and bring him back to Northern Ireland. In fact, Simon became the first international adoption to be carried out in Britain. Last year, Simon had an operation to correct a curvature in his spine but tragically, this operation led to his being paralysed. Since then, his adopted parents have dedicated their lives to caring for him, and his mother, Geraldine, gives him round the clock care. Whenever they go out, Simon has to be lifted out of his wheelchair into the car. While his father and siblings are out at work, Simon's mother Geraldine can never go out on her own with him. She finds it impossible to get him into the car on her own, and he is unable to sit up unassisted by himself while she drives. Subsequently, they spend most of the time indoors at home. When Gowrings Mobility heard of the family's predicament, it was all hands on deck to donate a more suitable car. With the support of Renault UK, a local Newbury Renault dealer, Bridges of Newbury, and This Morning, the company was able to surprise the family with a brand new, fully converted Renault Kangoo, live on air. The specially adapted Renault Kangoo has been converted by Gowrings Mobility by lowering the rear section of the floor and inserting a lightweight ramp. Simon can enter the car via the ramp at the rear of the car and then travel whilst remaining seated in his wheelchair. His wheelchair is secured safely using a 4-point wheelchair restraint system and Simon will have his own seatbelt for ultimate safety. Linda Ling, managing director of Gowrings Mobility says, "We are absolutely delighted to be able to help the Rodgers family. The wheelchair accessible Renault Kangoo will be ideal for Simon and his family as it will just take a few minutes for Geraldine to wheel Simon into the car, secure the wheelchair down and away they go. It's simple, convenient and really quick, and they will be able to go out as a family once again." When Terry was told that his entry had been picked by This Morning, he decided to keep it as a surprise for his mother. Geraldine thought she had won a make over at the London ITV studios, and was shocked when she was invited onto the sofa with presenters, Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton in front of millions of viewers! When the car was presented as a surprise to Geraldine, she was overjoyed. When Jeffrey Knight, a Gowrings Mobility demonstrator, delivered the car to the Rodgers family, Geraldine said, "What a difference this will make to our lives! This experience has been absolutely breathtaking - a real dream come true. We are so thankful to Gowrings Mobility and the This Morning team for giving us this chance and making such a difference to Simon's life." Terry Rodgers concluded, "Mum and dad are such an inspiration to me and Simon is a real survivor. I was just so happy to be able to set up this magnificent surprise. The new car will transform their lives and really enable them to start living again." www.gowringsmobility.co.uk
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