So many people take their health for granted, but one only has to see what Scott Mansfield has gone through to realize that good health is like gold.
Despite being diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, last year, Mansfield still makes it to work at G & M Collision in Ponca City, Okla., every day, getting around in a mobile wheelchair and a walking stick when he’s on his feet. Mansfield has been in the collision repair trade for nearly 30 years, and is particularly skilled at matching and mixing paint.
Mansfield’s health troubles have led to large medical bills, but the Ponca City News featured a heartwarming story last Christmas about the staff of G & M rallying around him and donating $800 in cash, $600 in gift cards and buying a set of tires to make the long trips to the doctor.
This is not the first tragedy for the family, the article stated, saying that one of Mansfield’s six children lost his leg to cancer and that the family’s roof collapsed during a storm. Mansfield also lost a brother to ALS.
The article stated that “going to work keeps Scott alive right now,” and that work is “all he knows and he is there every day he can make it.” Mansfield has a feeding tube which aids him with chewing and prevents choking, and ALS sufferers typically also lose their ability to talk.
Co-workers describe him as intelligent, highly skilled, detail-oriented, reliable and dedicated.
"He is a Christian man and loyal to the company and interested in doing the best he can do for the customer and employer to make everyone happy," co-worker Larry Stanbrough told the Ponca City News.
