UPDATE: Paralyzed Veteran Who Launched GoFundMe Site Receives Donated Wheelchair

A paralyzed veteran who had resorted to GoFundMe to acquire a new wheelchair has received a donated one from his local sheriff’s department.

Anthony Trzeciak, a 2008 Hatboro-Horsham graduate who was paralyzed due to injuries sustained while serving in Afghanistan, set up a GoFundMe site earlier this month because he said he was having difficulties obtaining certain necessities, including a working wheelchair, from the VA.

Trzeciak, who now lives in Jacksonville, NC, said his local sheriff’s department dropped off the new wheelchair Thursday. Trzeciak, who expressed graditude for the donation, said he eventually needs a specialty wheelchair but is happy that the department provided him with a transport chair in the meantime.

“The transport chair I was using since my specialty wheelchair broke was a hand-me-down and was also falling apart. So they came together to get me what they could,” Trzeciak said.

Before his specialty wheelchair broke, it is what Trzeciak used on a daily basis. It’s “much safer and prevents sores and things like that,” he said.

The Montgomery County, Pa. native served in the Marines from 2008-2012 and was injured in an IED blast. Trzeciak said he not only injured his back and head in the blast, but also contracted a near-deadly infection from a virus that he got during his service. "When I was struck by the blast, I had injured my back and while doing patrols in swampy waters during deployment, the infection got into my blood stream," he wrote. 

Trzeciak tells his supporters on his GoFundMe page that the money donated will be used to buy a wheelchair, a shower chair, a toilet chair and necessary exercise equipment. 

Since his page was created seven days ago, Trzeciak has raised nearly $6,000.