Miracle Wheels: The Story of a Mission to Bring Mobility to the World

by Don Schoendorfer, R.C. George (With)

Dr. Don Schoendorfer spent many years pursuing his vision of success, but one trip to Africa changed his life forever. The heartbreaking sights he witnessed on the streets of Morocco sent him on an unexpected path of faith, despair, and, ultimately, newfound purpose.

Miracle Wheels is the compelling account of Don's journey, from his humble beginnings in the Midwest to his innovative work in the biomedical field, culminating in the founding of a nonprofit organization that has served millions around the world. Laced with humor while tempered by life's sobering realities, including family hardships, Don's story leads you on an emotional exploration that spans the globe and intersects with world leaders as he strives to overcome challenges and serve some of the most vulnerable among us: people living with disabilities in developing countries.

240 pages, Paperback

Published December 6, 2022

Reviews

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up until recently, I had no idea there were millions of fellow human beings confined to the ground or the dirt, ostracized, or living lives of isolation... all because they are living with disabilities in a developing country and cannot afford a wheelchair.

This is the story of one man who saw one of these people, a woman crawling on the ground in Africa, and was called to use his God-given gifts as a mechanical engineer to solve this problem.

He later founded a humanitarian nonprofit and they now have given away 1.3 million wheelchairs around the world!

This story chronicles the many people put in his path, from his parents, to his MIT professors, to his family, to churches and friends... causing him to leave his successful career in a leap of faith and at a time of difficult family pressures.

You'll laugh, cry, and maybe admire this story enough to want to do something to help.

It's a short and easy read and you won't be able to put it down, be ready to finish it in one or two sittings!

I can already see the movie version of this, the only question is who will play Don? I hope you enjoy this book and this mission as much as I have!

[Cecilia Kessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and inspiring story. Unfortunately, I felt it lacked substance. It would have been interesting to include more information about the internal health systems of the various countries Free Wheelchair Mission visited. What were specific reasons for being unable to access assistive devices (instead of broadly just stating it was due to living in a resource-limited country)? How could the recipients of a wheelchair contact someone in the future for a replacement chair / was this possible? What were the limitations of the global wheelchair? I felt a lot of important details were missing, and I did feel that a lot of people and communities were combined into groups based on physical attributes and/or what their communities were lacking compared to the western world. Overall however, this is a very hopeful story that has the potential to inspire others to invest in nonprofits and help others.

[MauiBeachReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I requested this book on NetGalley because, as a 20-year career Physical Therapist, the topic interested me and, of course is one I have some expertise on. I feel that the work the author has done is impressive, much needed, and deserving of accolades. My only concern is that it tends to somewhat overlook how much this problem (impoverished people with severe disabilities and lack of access to appropriate healthcare and needed medical equipment) is prevalent in our own country, the United States. I deal with this issue multiple times a week with my patients and find myself climbing into dumpsters, begging friends and family for donations, in a CONSTANT battle with insurance companies who rarely cover DME (Durable Medical Equipment) trying to find appropriate items so that my patients can just have their basic needs met. I don't know how many times I've scavenged painters' buckets from the side of the road and attached padding to the top to make a sort of modified bedside commode for a patient who can't get to a bathroom and needs a place to urinate and defecate that isn't in their own bedding. So many citizens don't have any caregiver or advocate to assist them. Hundreds of thousands of our homeless are severely disabled and die due to lack of access to appropriate care. There are countless Physical and Occupational Therapists (among other Healthcare Providers) out on the streets every day modifying and scraping together parts to try to provide anything, even inadequate at best equipment to our patients. The work missions like the one the author took do in impoverished countries is so important, I definitely don't want to minimize that, but I would have liked to see more attention on the fact that we don't do much better in our own country with our own healthcare system, and honestly, we could learn a lot about healthcare from many poorer nations who do a much better job than we do at ensuring everyone at least has access to basic care.

[Eunice Chin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotion pulsed through me as I read along throughout most of this autobiography of a most extra-ordinarily, interesting man, who used his accumulation of lifetime experience, talent, knowledge, and faith to bring life-changing hope to those with disabilities in developing countries. The book brought times of outright laughter, and then times of tears, of the sobbing sort, as this brother, powered by God and his desire to help these children and adults in places where they could not help themselves. There were so many touching scenes of joy and 'miracle' transformations. I especially loved the story of Lotus Blossom and her gift of mobility. It was truly remarkable! These wheelchairs were, and still are, Miracle Wheels indeed! They were fashioned by Dr. Schoendorfer with compassion and his deep, heartfelt desire to help get people up off the ground, both literally and figuratively.

I'd say this is a must read for one and all, and as one is reading, to think pro-actively of what oneself could do to help this cause with your own talents, and so forth, in your own particdular niche of the world. May each reader be so inspired.

The author has a mission called Free Wheechair Mission and you can find the organization on line for further details. Also in the addenda, one can find some discussion questions to help focus thinking about the needs of the disabled; pictures of the author, his family and some of those who were transformed by their free miracle wheels. Praise the Lord for such dedication and service.

~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~

December 2022

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the complimentary review copy sent by NetGalley and the publisher.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miracle Wheels
The Story of a Mission to Bring Mobility to the World
by Don Schoendorfer with RC George
Pub Date 06 Dec 2022
Amplify Publishing Group, Mascot Books
Biographies & Memoirs | Christian | Religion & Spirituality


I am reviewing a copy of Miracle Wheels through Amplify PublishingGroup, Mascot Books and Netgalley:


For many years Dr. Don Schoendorfer pursued his vision of success. But a trip to Africa changed his life forever. The heartbreaking sights he witnessed on the streets of Morocco sent him on an unexpected path of faith, despair, and, ultimately, newfound purpose.


In Miracle Wheels you'll read the compelling account of Don’s journey, from his humble beginnings in the Midwest to his innovative work in the biomedical field, culminating in the founding of a nonprofit organization that has served millions around the world. This book is laced with humor while still dealing with the harsher realities of life, which includes family hardships. Don’s story leads you on an emotional exploration that spans the globe and intersects with world leaders as he strives to overcome challenges and serve some of the most vulnerable among us: people living with disabilities in developing countries.


I give Miracle Wheels five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Matt Orbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I was looking for books this week, I took a minute to also look for charities to try and help a cause. With Miracle wheels I was able to do both. I found the book on a webpage called free wheel chair mission.org. If you buy books from their website (they have books dedicated to all different disabilities) the money goes towards getting people who need wheelchairs the help they need! This story is about a man who took a trip to Morocco and witnessed so many people who had to come up creative ways to essentially create their own wheel chairs. This led him on a journey of trying to help in any way he could. The story is very touching, but also funny and heart-warming. In my HS setting I could see using this book as a way to show that anything you can to do to help...is help. Whether it's donating, building things, or dedicating your life to ending diseases through a medical degree. It's a nice reminder of the things we sometimes take for granted and I think the kids would enjoy some of the dry humor in it as well!

[Reed Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing story and an easy and engrossing read. Dr. Don Schoendorfer spent many years pursuing his vision of success, but one trip to Africa changed his life forever. The heartbreaking sights he witnessed on the streets of Morocco sent him on an unexpected path of faith, despair, and, ultimately, newfound purpose. “Miracle Wheels” is the compelling account of Don's journey, from his humble beginnings in the Midwest to his innovative work in the biomedical field, culminating in the founding of a nonprofit organization that has now delivered and given away for free over 1.3 million wheelchairs to those in need in developing countries. Don's story leads you on an emotional exploration that spans the globe and intersects with world leaders as he strives to overcome challenges and serve some of the most vulnerable among us: people living with disabilities in developing countries

[Emma Filbrun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very inspiring to me. I could identify with the author as a young boy with dyslexia. I do not struggle with that myself, but have several sons who do. It was great to see how Don Schoendorfer used his strengths in visualizing things to invent technology to help people. Though many scenes were heartbreaking, as he met disabled people in various third-world countries, I appreciated the way he brought new hope and dignity to them, and especially appreciated the way he gave all glory to God for what he was able to accomplish.
I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

[JD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful

What a great book. The story from the beginning of Don's and Laurie and the journey it took to make and become Free Wheelchair Mission is... just wow. I highly recommend this book. Such a powerful book

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review coming shortly.