When Brandon resident, Theresa Gibbons, was locked outside of her home in the dead of winter with a frozen door lock, she realized that she wasn’t prepared for the unexpected.

Since then, she has designed an emergency kit to take with her when she’s out with her wheelchair on the streets of Brandon.  Gibbons is in her early 60’s and has adapted to the disabilities of muscular dystrophy.  She is very active in her community by way of volunteering and helping other people whenever she can.  Her emergency kit is just another example of her reaching out to others to help them, so they don’t get caught unawares like she was.  

She says her frosty experience has inspired the design of her ‘Ready Kit’ that she’s now made available to others.

“It’s a fanny pack with an emergency blanket, hot packs for your hands and feet, a flashlight, an ID card and anything else you might need to help you if you were to get stopped or stuck, or your wheelchair broke, or you fell over.”

Gibbons uses her wheelchair to get out and about and relies on the Handy Transit to travel distances she can’t make with her wheelchair.  It was when she was locked outside her home on a cold winter night that inspired her to design this emergency kit that’s easy to take with you as you’re heading out the door with a wheelchair, scooter, or even a vehicle.

“A couple of years ago in the dead of winter I went out to any event,” shares Gibbons. “I used the Handi-Transit and when I got home my door was frozen.  The driver could not open my door with the key and so he took me to the police station.”

“I said to the driver, ‘take me to the police station’ because all of the places around me, there was no place is accessible for wheelchairs.  The houses next door all had stairs in the front, so I couldn’t go to the neighbors, and I didn’t want to take the chance of sitting outside waiting for someone to come home.”

Unfortunately, the local police couldn’t help her as they didn’t have enough staff available to take her home and so Gibbons travelled the two blocks to her home in her wheelchair, feeling quite concerned on such a frosty night, ill-prepared.

“You know, anything can break, a [wheel] chair can quit when it’s that cold,” she adds. “I had my fanny pack but I didn’t have anything in there to keep me safe if I got stuck somewhere.

Her story ends well, because upon the return to her front door she was welcomed by her room mate who had already arrived home and was able to unlock the door.

“It’s unfortunate that it happened but I’m glad it did because now I’m aware.  I go out in the winter; I have my fanny pack with all these things I mentioned and my cell phone.  Always keep your cell phone charged – and your chair!” she laughs.

“I always said, ‘Oh it’s not going to happen to me, it’s always going to happen to somebody else,’ but I can’t say that anymore.  So, the best thing for me is to be prepared and that’s for anybody!”

Gibbons is in the process of making more ‘Ready Kits’ and is hoping to draw folks who can help get the word out.  She says this would be a great Christmas gift for anyone to give to someone they care about as it’s a useful gift that could save them in a bad situation.  She adds the basic fanny pack kit costs $42 and there is a list of additional items that are able to fit into the pack as one chooses for an additional cost.

For more information contact Theresa Gibbons by calling 204-727-7755 or email tmshortstuff@gmail.com