Teen Saves for 2 Years, Buys Friend an Electric Wheelchair

Classmate grew weary of pushing himself around school
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 5, 2019 7:11 PM CST
Teen Saves for 2 Years, Buys Friend an Electric Wheelchair
   (Getty Images/Spukkato)

Brandon Qualls found it difficult to get around his Arkansas high school in his wheelchair. "My arms would get really tired," he told News9. Tanner Wilson took that to heart, saving money from his part-time job at an auto repair shop for two years so he could buy an electric wheelchair for his friend. Tanner recently gave the new wheels to Brandon in front of classmates. "They came in, and my face just blew up," Brandon said. "I was just crying everywhere. I was like, 'Wow I can't believe he did that for me.'" Added Tanner, "I just felt like I needed to do it. ... Brandon, he's just always been there for me."

Tanner's mother said her son's selflessness didn't surprise her. "He's always been about everybody else and not himself," she told CNN. "We let him know, you get nowhere being mean." People around the country have praised Tanner since word got out. His mother said the two have been friends for years. "They both deserve the attention because they're both great and wonderful kids," she said. Her next hope for Brandon is a family vehicle that can accommodate the new wheelchair, which has to stay at school for now. Tanner smiles when he reads online posts praising him and wishes, he said, that "people would care more about others." (The story of Charles Barkley's unlikely friendship with a scientist touched many.)

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