COLUMBIA, S.C. — For one Forest Acres family, a Christmas miracle has come true.
"It’s just a blessing, an unadulterated blessing," says Claudia Russ.
On Formosa drive where Russ resides, it's a cold fall morning. But a spirit of warmth was felt by way of a kind gesture as their need for a new wheel chair ramp was realized.
It all started on Monday night, when a car crashed right into the front yard of the Russ home.
The crash damaged a vehicle and a wheelchair ramp needed by her friend Richard Smith to access the home.
But the story doesn’t stop there. Now, the kindness of a stranger has changed their lives.
"I had the equipment. I had the ability to do it. And I felt like it was the right thing to do," says Master Trooper David Jones.
Jones, who has experience with building wheelchair ramps, saw the story and felt it in his heart to help.
"For me, God has given me the ability and the skill to weld aluminum, and not everybody has that skill," Jones say. "Without a ramp, the gentleman may have been stuck for who knows how long inside the house. So for me, it’s about doing the right thing and helping your neighbor out."
"It gives me back my accessibility," says Richard Smith. "I can leave the house. Everything has been taken away, but partially it’s been brought back."
The ramp will be finished with the installation of the rails, but Claudia and Richard say this ramp and the kindness they’ve felt over the past several days is the best Christmas present they could ask for.