Community rallies, helps student get wheelchair

Bradley Gignac’s dream of ‘walking’ across BMR stage to get diploma will be made reality thanks to donations

BLACKSTONE — Bradley Gignac’s dream of using a state-of-the-art standing wheelchair so he can “walk” across the stage next year and receive his high school diploma has finally come true.

After raising $67,361 in a GoFundMe fundraising campaign, Gignac, a 17-year-old student at Blackstone-Millville Regional High School, received his new wheelchair on Wednesday. More than 590 people over the past 10 months donated to the campaign.

“We couldn’t be more excited for Bradley,” said his grandmother, Celeste Gignac of Blackstone. “I want to thank everyone who donated to help Bradley achieve his dream. To say Bradley and I are excited and thankful for everyone’s generosity is a huge understatement.”

On July 20, 2003, Gignac, who was 3½-yearsold at the time, was riding a jet ski on Echo Lake in Rhode Island with his father when they were struck by a boat. His father, 22-year-old Kevin Gignac, a Blackstone firefighter, was killed instantly. Bradley suffered from a stroke and serious brain trauma, paralyzing him on his right side and leaving him blind in his left eye.

Bradley, who has had 14 surgeries since the

accident, has lost muscle tone and bone structure from sitting in a traditional wheelchair. The standing wheelchair, his grandmother says, will alleviate the harsh toll his current wheelchair had on his body.

A stand-up wheelchair, which Bradley has dreamed about getting since seeing one four years ago, is designed for comfort and durability and offers many health benefits, including improvement of blood circulation, kidney and bladder functioning, as well as improvement of muscle tone.

Bradley is hoping his new wheelchair will allow him to bowl in the Special Olympics and walk across the stage to receive his high school diploma. Bradley is a 12th-grader at Blackstone-Millville Regional High School enrolled in the life skills program. His positive attitude and social nature has earned him the nickname ‘The Mayor.”

But life, his grandmother says, remains a challenge for the young teen.

He continues to receive physical, occupational and speech therapies, and walking – even when using a walker for full assistance – is limited to a few steps. To date, he has had 14 operations, including eye surgery (he is blind in one eye); left and right multiple hip surgeries; reconstruction of both femurs (one of the surgeries left him in a full body cast for six months); and complete restoration of his right foot, hand and arm.

Gignac said it was four years ago when she and Bradley attended the Boston Abilities Show where numerous vendors displayed their latest innovations to help people with disabilities. That day, she said, Bradley had the opportunity to experience life in a standing wheelchair.

Gignac knew immediately that the wheelchair could open up an entirely new world for her grandson, who only has the use of his left arm. The wheelchair he uses now has taken a toll on his body because it forces him to sit in the same position every waking moment. It has caused skin issues, loss of muscle tone and difficulty speaking because of the restrictive position of his body.

His new standing wheelchairs features an easy to access joy-stick controller that allows the user to fully control the movement of the chair. It also features a stand up mode, which allows users to drive the chair while in a standing position.

“There wasn’t a day that went by that Bradley did not ask about this new standing wheelchair,” says Gignac. “His dream to one day be able to function through life like everyone else has now come true.”