A paraplegic man whose ATV was stolen from his home near Chatham says he's very thankful for the outpouring of support he's receiving from the local community.
A GoFundMe page that was set up Wednesday morning to help Shawn Daley buy a replacement ATV has raised more than $2,000 in less than 24 hours.
"I'm going to be honest, I never really heard of GoFundMe until the other day," says Daley, adding he's grateful for all the support he has received, not just the donations. "I also appreciate the response of Chatham-Kent police, they were very quick getting out here when I made the call."
Daley says the insurance estimate for what his ATV is worth came in well below what he expects he'll need to buy a new ATV, so he's especially thankful that people are willing to donate money to help him out. He says it will take some extra work, though, to get another vehicle that's suited to his needs.
"You can adapt a regular one, but still, there's additional equipment that needs to be added to it in order to be able to shift gears and operate the machine," says Daley. "I also had other adaptations to it for things that I did in the yard... there were racks front and back, so we could carry a boat down [to the water] if we wanted to go canoeing -- instead of having to fight with my chair to go down there... aspects like that."
While he waits for a replacement, Daley says managing without his specially modified ATV has put an increased burden on his family, too.
"Just my wheelchair and assistance from my wonderful wife and kids around the yard," says Daley. "It's not the easiest thing to move around right now with all of the ground thawing out... it tires you out fairly rapidly."
Daley says in addition to contacting Chatham-Kent police, he has been in touch with several local ATV dealers and ATV groups, giving them the heads-up along with the serial number of the stolen vehicle in case it happens to show up somewhere in the area.
The incident is still under investigation.