Trapped in her Gulfport home, this paralyzed woman finally found group willing to help
Antrease Bullock grows tired of of looking at four walls.
But she has little choice. A 2019 shooting in Hattiesburg left Bullock a paraplegic. Her house sits off the ground and she hates using the makeshift wheelchair ramp a neighbor built for her. She’s already fallen off of it once.
Bullock tried for three years to get a wheelchair ramp, but she didn’t qualify through any agencies that she called. Then someone gave her an application for a ramp through Mississippi Heroes, a Coast-based nonprofit that also supports caregivers.
Mississippi Heroes started to get requests for ramps after helping a caregiver who fell ill and needed one. Executive Director Katherine Sutton said some agencies build ramps only for senior citizens and have other qualifications not everyone can meet.
“We’re trying to fill a gap,” Sutton said.
Bullock, for example, is only 50 years old. But she’s on a fixed income and said she can’t afford the materials for a ramp.
Sutton said the organization plans to install Bullock’s ramp within the next two weeks.
Shooting leaves MS woman paralyzed
Bullock was an able-bodied and outgoing wife, employee, mother and grandmother before she was shot. She was picking up one of her grandchildren from his father when the man attacked her, she said. She said that she still doesn’t know why.
She said that she was running back to her car when the man shot her in the leg, then in the chest, the wound that paralyzed her from the chest down. The man was later charged with aggravated assault.
“In a matter of minutes,” she said. “It was all taken away. He took everything from me but my life.”
It took her a couple of weeks to realize she would never walk again. She still has the use of her hands.
Bullock has always been athletic. Tall and slender, she enjoyed playing softball and basketball, and running track, in her younger days.
She moved from Hattiesburg to the Mississippi Coast, where five of her six children live, after her accident. She currently lives in Gulfport with her youngest son, who helps her move from bed to wheelchair and back. She and her husband are separated.
For doctor’s appointments, someone had to carry Bullock and a wheelchair to a vehicle. She didn’t venture out much.
Wheelchair ramp installed
About a year ago, a neighbor who has since moved scrapped together material for the makeshift ramp at her front door.
“I was trapped in the house before that,” Bullock said. “I had a wheelchair but I had no means of getting in and out the door . . . I gave up.”
She’s grateful for the ramp, but it’s unstable, with a piece of plywood attached to boards below. Once, when the ramp had sand on it, the tires on her motorized wheelchair started spinning as her daughter pushed her up the ramp. Bullock and her chair fell over. Her daughter had to call the fire department for help.
Although Bullock suffered no serious injuries, the accident scared her. “I just haven’t quite gotten over that,” she said.
Bullock’s 13 grandchildren keep her going. One or more of them, between the ages of 9 months and 12 years, is always visiting.
Bullock will be glad when the ramp is installed. Next, she’s determined to find a wheelchair lift so that she can travel with her 400-pound motorized chair. Her spine is weak from her injury and she can’t sit for more than an hour in her lighter wheelchair without a motor.
“I can’t wait to feel safe,” Bullock said.
How to help
Sutton said Mississippi Heroes has built or installed 30 wheelchair ramps in the last year and has a list of about 40 people who need wheelchair ramps. The organization is a registered 501(c)(3), which means contributions are tax deductible.
You can contribute here to wheelchair ramps, which cost an average of $2,500-$3,500. You can also join the Million Dollar Club to help Mississippi Heroes build more ramps and support caregivers.
Contributions can be mailed to ATTN: Katherine Sutton, 11294 River Bend Drive, Gulfport MS 39503.
Reach out to the organization with any questions or suggestions at MississippiHeroes@gmail.com
This story was originally published June 12, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
