A mechanical miracle worker in Arizona helps mobilize others in tribute to his brother.
Lance Greathouse, who also shares his expertise with dental customers as a Service Technician at Benco Dental, keeps life rolling for many through Wheelchair Labs, an operation based in Phoenix to enhance lives with the gift of electric wheelchairs and scooters.
Co-founded by Lance and his wife Janis, and operated as a program of Southwest Community Network, a 501(c)3 non-profit based organization, Wheelchair Labs, with the help of caring volunteers and community partners, refurbishes and repairs donated electric wheelchairs and scooters; in addition to designing and building all-terrain personal vehicles.
The why?
“I miss my brother,” said Lance referencing sibling Brent Greathouse, who after being being diagnosed with a rare form of Parkinson’s disease in 2003, succumbed to his debilitating illness in 2004.
Through this unique undertaking (Lance’s innovations, inventions and wheelchair works have been featured on ABC TV’s Shark Tank, PBS Horizon, National Geographic’s Mad Scientists, Discovery Channel, History Channel’s Invention USA, Science Channel’s Underground Science, and more) Lance keeps the late Brent Greathouse present in the hearts of minds of many.
See Lance Greenhouse discuss his flame-throwing wheelchair creation on National Geographic’s Mad Scientists: See Lance Greathouse discuss his flame-throwing wheelchair creation on National Geographic’s Mad Scientists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RJ1W1Cadzg
According to the Wheelchair Lab website:
“Seeing his brother lose his mobility brought home to Lance how important the wheelchair was to Brent’s life and how cost prohibitive a wheelchair was for many people. Lance went a step further and built his brother a custom edgy designed wheelchair which changed Brent’s life. Instead of seeing his brother as wheelchair-dependent person, they saw Brent and treated him differently talking about the chair instead of illness.”
The how?
Wheelchair Labs co-founder Lance Greathouse has been fascinated with all types of science and machinery for as long as he can remember. His father, who worked with the Arizona Highway Equipment department, transformed his garage into a test track for learning basic fabrication and electrical skills. Lance, his brother, and father worked on over 40 custom car projects together.
Find out more about Lance’s “Great” works in his interview with Phoenix Magazine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqit-yktKHA
Learn how you can support this cause by visiting: https://wheelchairlabs.org/