Home Depot Employees Go Above and Beyond, Build Walker for Age 2 Boy with Muscle Disorder
A Georgia home-renovation store has shown how a little bit of one-on-one benevolence can help in even the most difficult health situations.
Just consider the case of two-year-old Logan Moore.
Logan struggles with a disorder called hypotonia that has robbed him of what most of us would consider a normal childhood, according to CNN.
Also known by the unfortunate moniker of “floppy baby syndrome,” hypotonia is a condition involving decreased muscle tone.
The National Institute of Health’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke explains, “Normally, even when relaxed, muscles have a very small amount of contraction that gives them a springy feel and provides some resistance to passive movement.”
“Infants with hypotonia have a floppy quality or ‘rag doll’ appearance because their arms and legs hang by their sides and they have little or no head control,” the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke continues.
“Other symptoms of hypotonia include problems with mobility and posture, breathing and speech difficulties, ligament and joint laxity, and poor reflexes.”
Despite his obvious ailment, Logan seems to be a bright, happy boy. And when his physical therapist said that a gait trainer might help him, his parents — Christian and Justin Moore — wanted to get him one.
According to KTHV, there was just one problem: They had no idea whether or not their insurance would cover it. So they got creative and turned to YouTube for instructions on how to build their own out of PVC.
They went to a Cedartown, Georgia, Home Depot, without knowing that they’d soon leave with more than materials for a cobbled-together physical-therapy tool. As they started asking where they could find the supplies, store employees decided to take on the task themselves.
“My store manager heard about this, and we went over to them looked at their plans and said, ‘We got this.’ So we started putting it together [and] told the family to go and enjoy ice cream and come back in a hour,” Employee Jeffrey Anderson told KTHV.
“Other associates started jumping in, and when the family came back, it was done.”
No one was more thrilled with the development than Logan himself.
The little boy grabbed the homemade walker. In no time at all, he was puttering around the big, orange store.
“Everyone was crying to see Logan walk around with the biggest smile on his face, and when the family tried to pay us, we said, ‘No way this one is on us,’” Anderson said.
Christian Moore found herself particularly touched by the gesture.
“I couldn’t believe they were willing to do that,” she told CNN. “It took everything I had not to cry, because it hasn’t been an easy road for my son.
“He has had a hard time doing things that would be easy for most children his age. … I am grateful to be able to share that there are still good people around to help.”
The best part of the whole thing? The Home Depot employees even emblazoned Logan’s name on his new walker.
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