YAKIMA – Last week, Dawn Mason and her sister Lori Anderson asked the community for help after Anderson was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Anderson was staying at the local hospital and wasn’t able to make it in and out of her sister’s house because of her limited mobility. After we aired her story last week, lots of people reached out to them offering help.
Anderson was in need of a wheelchair ramp. When Kevin Caufield, an employee at Pacific Mobile Structures, saw the story on the news and he remembered his company had an extra ramp.
Caufield declined to be interviewed, but said he just wanted to help out.
Bryce Olson, the site superintendent at their Pasco Branch, helped install the ramp and said the ramp is valued between $3,000 to $4,000.
“We’re pretty big on giving back to the community and we’re always looking for ways to give back,” Olson said. “Kevin is actually the one who put us in contact with these folks, not sure how he came about it. He brought it to the company and said they needed a ramp and we actually had a ramp available.”
Mason said Jason Lawery also helped build them a gate above the ramp, and several others reached out offering their help too.
The sisters say they’re extremely grateful for how the community has stepped up to help.
“I know Lori and I could never repay you, but God will, God will, everybody that’s helped,” Mason said.
Anderson said she’s had a lot of loss over a short period of time, the loss of her daughter, her spouse and now her diagnosis. This act of kindness has helped lift her spirits.
“They’ve really restored a lot of my faith, because I’m not gonna lie, in this last year and a half I’ve I lost a lot,” Anderson said.
The wheelchair ramp will help Anderson get to and from her appointments. The ramp was installed on Monday, so when Anderson came home Saturday, she needed assistance into her sister’s home. Mason said thanks to the ramp, they won’t have to worry about Anderson falling down.
Mason said this shows that Yakima is not as bad as it may seem to people.
“When I first moved here, there were like nine murders and all things stuff going on when I first moved here,” Mason said. “Since I’ve been here, the people have just been amazing, a lot of them from Tri-Cities as well, so it’s almost like we’re a big huge community.”
While Anderson was given a short time to live, Mason said she still has hope that things could turn around.
“I believe in the lord Jesus Christ and I believe he does wonderful things,” Mason said. “God’s good and he can do miracles, so of course I do yeah, but most important is she’s restoring her faith again.”
If that’s the case or if Anderson regains her mobility, the sisters said they would like to donate the ramp to someone else who may need it.
