CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Jessie Spann suffers from several medical conditions, because of that she uses a wheelchair to get around.
But when it was stolen from the bed of her parents’ truck, the family had no way of getting a new one.
After John Gutierrez, a Beeville car salesman, heard about the shocking news, he was determined to help the family.
And in no time, he was able to raise enough money to replace it.
“$5700 dollars in 5 hours that our small community and the leaders in this town gave us,” said Gutierrez.
Another resident was able to purchase the chair for only $3700.
The rest of the money the community chose to give back to Jessie; in the form of a surprise party.
Last weekend, the community gathered for jessie's 10th birthday, where they presented Jessie with her brand-new custom-made wheelchair.
“We get the wheelchair down, we turn it around and I mean her reaction was priceless,” said Gutierrez. “Her hands went in the air, she started clapping and her smile was from ear to ear it was something that you're only going to see once you know.”
The new wheelchair is molded to fit jessie's body.
It is also Jessie’s favorite color pink, and it has straps so she can feel secure while riding it.
“There's evil everywhere but this came out to be a positive story and that's what I’m here for I’m here to help the next person in line,” said Gutierrez.
Jessie has now gone to Oklahoma for the school year, but her family says they'll always be grateful for what this small community did for them.