Turlock resident Geneva England isn’t sure if she should either bake a big batch of cookies or make a big pot of spaghetti for the Turlock fire fighters she now calls her guardian angels, but she certainly plans on thanking them every chance she gets.
The fire fighters didn’t save England from a house fire or help her in a medical emergency, but what they did is of equal importance to her. Through the Turlock Firefighters, Local #2434’s Random Acts of Kindness program England was given her mobility back through the gift of a walker.
England, who has several medical conditions, relies on her walker to move around, but on Saturday a thief took it all away from her.
England was sitting outside her apartment on Wayside Drive with her dog Charlie Brown when she needed to make a trip to the bathroom. When she came back out, her walker was gone.
“I thought ‘Oh my God,’” England said. “I couldn’t believe someone had taken it. I couldn’t even walk down the street to see if it was still there. It just surprised me because it happened so fast.
“I’m disabled and need it to get around. I called my care provider and I just cried my head off like a little baby,” England said.
The idea that someone would steal her walker was so reprehensible to England that she thought if she made a public plea maybe it might be returned to her, which led her to give the Turlock Journal a call. The Journal then got in touch with the fire fighter’s union and told them of England’s plight.
The next day Capt. Frank Saldivar delivered a brand new pink walker to England.
“I had mixed emotions when I was talking to her,” Saldivar said of meeting England and giving her the walker. “I felt happy for her that she can get around her apartment, and sad that someone could have done this to her.”
For England, all she felt was joy at the site of her new walker.
“I broke down in tears again, but this time they were happy tears,” England said. “It’s an awesome program they have and nothing I ever expected would happen to me. They are just wonderful. I need to bake them some cookies or make them some spaghetti or maybe both.”
