Leaving a Legacy of Joy Through a Wheelchair: Vicki Price’s Story

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO — After many years of not being able to have children of their own, the Price family felt God was calling them to adopt children with disabilities. One of their many adopted children, Vicki Price, was a joy to all who met her, always smiling even though she lived with a debilitating disability.Her purple wheelchair became famous to many who loved Vicki at Joni and Friends Family Retreat, church, and beyond. After Vicki suddenly passed away in the night at the age of 27, her family had a hard time parting with her wheelchair. Eventually, they decided to donate it to the Joni and Friends Wheels for the World program. Now, Vicki’s life continues to bless others every single day.

Scott and Laura Price – Vicki’s Parents:

Our daughter Vicki passed away in 2019 at the age of 27. At that time we considered donating her wheelchair and for a while we held onto it because it wasn’t something we were quite ready to release so we started asking questions. Could we know who got Vicki’s chair if we donated it. The answer came back and it was yes.

Could we go on the trip and see the recipient and they came back and said it was yes.
And now we’re here today and we’ve had the wonderful opportunity to see the end result of what we’ve started many months ago.

We tried to have our own children for several years. We just found out after a while that wasn’t going to work out and purposely spent some time praying and really at that time felt like God was saying to go home and adopt kids with special needs.

Laura Price:

The only name we’d really thought about was Vicki. Because of her circumstances we gave her Victoria because God had already been victorious in her life.

Scott:

Vicki was a very, very happy girl. She shared her smile with just about anybody from the time she was young until all the way to the end of her life and she just enjoyed life even though she lived in this body that didn’t work well and people often asked how can she smile so much.

Part of it was she didn’t know anything different. The day before she passed away was mother’s day. So at the end of that great day I put her to bed like I’ve done for many, many years and the next morning I went to get her and wake her up and I turned her over and she had passed away in the night.

And so we wanted to honor Vicki and her memory by donating a chair to another family so that they could share in that freedom that we have when Vicki used her chair.

We were able to set Vicki’s chair for another young lady and she had a tragedy come into her life and now she needed a wheelchair.

Francisco Aguilar – Liz’s Father:

My girl Liz she’s known about her illness and her tumor. Last year we celebrated her 15th birthday. It was a great time for her. She really endured it. The change came with surgery.

Laura:

Liz had a brain tumor when she was two and had surgery and was fine afterwards. Lived a typical life. She is a very beautiful girl. Then in January she had surgery again to have another brain tumor removed and that second surgery left her with so much less than she had before.

Francisco:

The doctor said the tumor was right in the middle of the brain in the part that orders the body to move. She said that her daughter’s brain had got used to living with that tumor. It was like it was over. We knew we’d lose her. We reached a point in which they told us she wasn’t stable that her condition was very serious. I told my wife the best thing is that if God wants to take her may His will be done not ours. We looked for help everywhere, but then something good happened.

Laura:

Wheels For the World is very much a wedge going into someone’s heart. It’s a way for us to get into the person’s heart. It’s a way to communicate to them that God loves them and for them to know that this is something more than for their life here but this is for their life eternity. When I met the family and I told the parents the story that this was our daughter’s chair he grabbed his heart and was so thankful that we would give her chair to his daughter.

Scott:

When we were done I thought she looks so beautiful in her dress and now with the new part of her life she looks so beautiful in Vicki’s chair. I was so pleased to be able to give that to that family.
Francisco

The experience that I have just gone through with Vicki’s parents and Joni and Friends was so wonderful. I had never seen them. Their daughter’s with them and she will always be with them because every time we look at the chair we see her there. I wouldn’t want to be without the help of Joni and Friends. We were in a very difficult situation. They changed us. They gave our girl joy.

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About Joni and Friends

For 40 years, Joni and Friends has provided the hope of the Gospel and practical resources to people affected by disability around the globe. Ministry programs include Wheels for the World, Family Retreats, the Christian Institute on Disability, and church ministry training. Joni and Friends also delivers inspirational media such as the Joni and Friends radio program and podcasts. To find out more, please visit www.joniandfriends.org.

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