West Homewood man chosen to receive new motorized wheelchair

Khiry Young is at Seeds Coffee several times per week, either to work behind the register, study or just hang out. When the right brake on his motorized wheelchair stopped working roughly two months ago, it meant the 23-year-old could no longer reliably travel outside his home.

A West Homewood resident and 2014 Homewood High graduate, Young was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 1999 and has used a motorized wheelchair since he was 16. On Wednesday, Dec. 6, a new wheelchair was delivered to Young's home after he was chosen as the winner of Avid Rehab's Summer of Freedom contest to receive a new Vector Power Chair.

Young was nominated by friends from Haven Field Community Church in Vestavia Hills, who submitted videos talking about Young's need for a new wheelchair and the worn-out condition of the six-year-old wheelchair he used up until the new one was delivered on Wednesday.

Bret Tracy, a national sales manager for Avid Rehab, helped Young set up the new wheelchair outside his home on Wednesday. Tracy said Young was chosen by Avid partly by popularity in the Facebook contest and partly by staff choosing the most deserving candidate.

Young said he was "pretty excited" about the new wheelchair as he adjusted its settings. It is specifically built for "community use," Tracy said, meaning it can be driven indoors and outdoors. The Vector will go 20-24 miles between battery charges.

Khiry Young lives with his mother, Karla, and younger brother, Kameron, in West Homewood. His older brother, Keyun Young, also had Duchenne but passed away a couple years ago. In addition to working at Seeds Coffee for the past two years, Khiry Young is also a student at Point University, studying ministry.