A paralyzed little boy was unable to go back home from the hospital because his house wasn't wheelchair-accessible—so basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal bought the boy and his family a brand new house.
12-year-old Isaiah Payton was leaving from a high school football game in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 2019 when gunfire broke out next to the field, and a stray bullet hit the youngster in the spine, which paralyzed him from the neck down.
O’Neal was one of the community residents who was deeply heartbroken by the incident—so when he saw a chance to help the family, he immediately stepped up to the plate.
Isaiah has spent the past two months in the hospital healing from the incident—but even after he recovered from the injury, he couldn't return to his family’s one-bedroom home because it was not wheelchair accessible.
Then, O’Neal purchased a brand new house for the family in the College Park neighborhood. The athlete even says that he'll be paying the family’s rent for the following year with a little help from Papa John’s CEO Rob Lynch.
Photo by Atlanta Police Department (left) and Airman 1st Class Justin T. Armstrong / US Air Force (right)
COMMENTS