Not all of us have the time or opportunity to travel, visiting new destinations and taking a relaxing break in different climates. However, many of will have had the chance to make it down to the coast at some point. Taking in the sea breeze and chilling on the beach... there's nothing else quite like it.
There are some who aren't so lucky - and they can be denied the chance to make it to the beach by a number of factors. For David Thomas, from Jefferson County in Alabama, he has rarely had the opportunity to go on vacation whatsoever.
David is a 36-year-old man with cerebral palsy and, until recently, he had never been to the beach. Born with the condition, he hasn't had the chance to go on any sort of holiday for over two decades. "The last time I went anywhere I was 15 years old," he told AL. "This...it was like a dream. Like something I didn't want to wake up from."
David's friend Izas invited David to come and visit him at Panama City Beach, Florida, after seeing him make some comments on his family photos online. "His comments made me think, 'I'd really like to take him to the beach,'" Fuller said. So, David joined the Fuller family in their condo for some much-needed vacation time.
"It just brought tears to my eyes because I never had anyone to take the time to do anything for me because of my being in a wheelchair.
"God has blessed with me some real friends. I'm just the most luckiest guy to have him in my life and for him to really want to help me."
Being wheelchair-bound, getting to the sand is a bit of an issue. However, David's friends donated money so that he could rent a motorized beach wheelchair with large tires to be able to handle the sand. Fuller filmed David's reaction to the new chair, and his reaction when he first made it down to the beach to see it for himself.
The video was posted to Facebook, where it has amassed over 80,000 views already.
"Every day since I've been here I've just been enjoying the beach riding there in my chair and taking it all in," he said once he had a chance to see the beach up close.
"I just wanted friends to see it because I had talked about it for a few years. It was amazing that we got that kind of response," Fuller told AL when they asked him about the experience. "I was blessed just to experience his experience. It's a blessing to be a blessing."
The plan is for David to return to Jefferson County later this week, but has hopes to return one day. "God is good. God is always on time. It might take a minute for it to happen, but he's always right on time," he said.
If you want to read more about David, or even donate a little money, check out his GoFundMe.
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