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He was a man in a wheelchair I saw on a distant sidewalk early in the morning. He seemed to be with a friend and I wondered at his lack of warm clothing. He was wearing shorts and although it wasn’t extremely cold a chill was in the air and rain threatened to fall.
A couple hours later I saw a woman with others behind her push this man’s wheelchair into the tent. He looked to be sleeping and she could be heard telling those nearby at how he had been found sitting in the rain, his friend nowhere in sight. A few folks grabbed some of the blankets they had been giving away to those in need and tried to wrap the man up for warmth. He didn’t stir too much.
One woman was so moved by compassion for this unconscious man she reached out her hand to his shoulder and quietly began to pray. As if one in accord the hands of all who stood nearby joined her and gently touching him, praying with her. The man’s eyes began to twitch but still he did not open them.
A paramedic team came to our side of the park and this man was wheeled out to them. I lost track of him for a couple hours in the crowds as I took a break to meet up with my husband across the park.
Returning later, I found the man was once again sitting in the tent wrapped in a blanket. He was now very much awake so I walked over to chat with him. His blanket was starting to fall off the back of the wheelchair so I grabbed it and put it back on his shoulders. He thanked me and reached out his hand. I grabbed it in my own and he was so cold I used my other hand to wrap around his big paw. This is when I noticed he didn’t really have fingers, just stubs where his digits used to be. Looking at his other hand it was the same and he was also missing most of one leg.
Another young woman came up on the other side of him and he reached out his other deformed hand to her as well. She didn’t flinch and freely grabbed it. He apologized to her and said he wasn’t trying to grab her backside, he was just trying to lift his hand. She laughed and said she knew that. I watched them have a conversation and it was obvious this man enjoyed us holding his hands. I kept wondering how long it had been since someone had touched this man and showed him love and friendship?