This donation is one of several ways Freedom Alliance is helping service members remain positive and feel supported during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yorktown, Texas – (July 2, 2020) – Just in time for Independence Day, Freedom Alliance, an organization supporting wounded troops and military families, presented a customized, all-terrain wheelchair to wounded hero and Yorktown resident, Sgt. Nick Mateo, United States Army (Ret.).
Nick joined the Army in August 2004 as a geospatial intelligence analyst and engineer and spent most of his career serving the EAC (echelon above corps) and USASOC (U.S. Army Special Operations Command). He served two combat deployments to Iraq, one from 2005 until 2006 and another from 2007 until 2008, during which his unit was under constant enemy artillery fire.
In 2011, he learned that his exposure to chemical agents triggered the onset of a debilitating group of chronic illnesses, resulting in the diagnosis of a rare, severe type of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
Sergeant Mateo retired in 2014 and lives with his with his wife, Amanda, and their 2-year-old daughter. The family recently moved from South Carolina to a ranch in Texas and the new wheelchair will allow him to navigate his property, enjoy outdoor activities, and spend quality time with his family. Sergeant Mateo also volunteers his time as a peer mentor supporting other veterans who suffer from the unseen wounds of war.
“With this chair I will be able to enjoy the activities my family and I have always wanted to but have been nearly impossible the past few years.” Sergeant Mateo commented. “We can once again go to the beach, take my daughter around the ranch to see her cows, take family ski trips and participate in many other outdoor adventures. I will always be grateful for the blessing and gift Freedom Alliance has presented, and for that I say thank you.”
“As we celebrate our nation’s independence, we give thanks to all our veterans like Nick Mateo who served to preserve that freedom,” said Freedom Alliance President Tom Kilgannon. “Today we recognize Nick’s bravery and pray that this chair will provide him with greater mobility and a higher degree of personal independence to enjoy outdoor activities.”
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