Readers offer to help LI wounded veteran
Christopher Levi, inside his Holbrook home with his dog, Marley. Levi, a war veteran, had his wheelchair stolen from in front of his Holbrook home. (Jan. 20, 2012) Credit: James Carbone
Ann Butler has problems, too. But Saturday, she was among a number of people so wounded by the loss of an Army veteran's wheelchair, she felt she had to help.
She wanted Christopher Levi, 28, who lost both legs in Iraq, to have her late daughter's $7,000 motorized wheelchair.
Butler, of West Babylon, said her 53-year-old daughter, who'd had both of her legs amputated because of diabetes, died four years ago.
"It broke my heart when I saw the picture of this young fellow, who had both his legs amputated like my daughter," Butler said.
Though Levi was grateful for the offer and others like it Saturday, he said he expects to receive a new wheelchair after Rep. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) asked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to expedite sending him a replacement. For now, he has a loaner.
The custom-built lightweight, aluminum wheelchair -- embroidered with a Purple Heart -- was taken from his driveway in Holbrook on Wednesday.
Levi said he has been so inundated with offers, including calls to his home, that he put a message on his answering machine asking donors to contribute to Building Homes For Heroes, buildinghomesforheroes.org.
The Valley Stream-based charity builds and renovates homes for war-wounded veterans and helped remodel his parents' home on his behalf. Levi serves as a spokesman for the group.
"There are people in need, soldiers in need, that need our assistance," he said. "For all the people who want to experience what it is to help a soldier, I thank them. But I'm no longer in need."
Still, as Suffolk police continued to look for the missing chair, Levi's story struck a nerve.
Like Butler, Mary Berge, 60, of East Meadow, was among a dozen people who contacted Newsday Saturday, offering to help. Berge said she was laid off from her job as a bookkeeper for an electrical contractor, but she offered to buy Levi a new $3,000 chair.
"He's so young. He's a kid. I just started to cry when I saw the picture," Berge said.
With Martin C. Evans
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