When Dave Urban, a Lowe’s employee in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, encountered the Getty family searching for PVC pipes in the store’s aisle, he initially thought he would be assisting them in finding the right fittings. However, after learning that the family was building parallel bars to help their five-year-old son, William, who has quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy, Urban decided to go above and beyond his regular duties.
William, born prematurely at just 23 weeks, was diagnosed with the neuromuscular condition that impairs his ability to walk. His parents, Mark and Jessica Getty, shared with local television station WTXF that one of their goals for William was to help him learn to walk.
Moved by young William’s determination, Urban spent the next 30 minutes meticulously cutting and fitting the PVC pipes to the exact specifications provided by the Getty family. He transformed the pipes into a functional parallel bar device, enabling William to practice walking.
When William, with a beaming smile, tested out the bars by grasping them and attempting to walk, Urban was overcome with emotion. “I think you saw that courageous smile of his. Sense of pride, ah, it keeps getting me,” Urban said, holding back tears.
The Getty family expressed their gratitude, stating that the bars would not only help William practice walking forward and sideways but also aid him in learning to stand up. Relatives of the boy expressed their eternal appreciation for Urban’s kindness and generosity.
Sometimes, that small effort or extra step is all it takes to create a meaningful transformation. Just go the extra mile and be a ray of hope in someone’s despair.