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Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
The 12-year-old suffers from muscular dystrophy and had been waiting for his wheelchair to be fixed for the past four months.
During that time, he had put almost every extracurricular activity in his life on hold, including spending time with his friends in gym class and weekly cadet meetings.
The wheelchair was returned to Repulse Bay late on the evening of Jan. 21 by Calm Air.
Yohan's mother, Leonie Aissaoui, says he is just like any other kid when it comes to getting up for school in the morning.
"Normally, I start at about 7:30 a.m. and have to go back in a few times before he's up and starting to get ready for school," says Aissaoui.
"The morning after his chair returned, I wasn't even awake myself when suddenly I hear his voice, 'Mom, mom, let's go to school. Come on. Let's go.'"
Yohan says he's thankful his chair is back, but he's also a little scared it might break again.
He asked his mom to talk to the students in his class so no one will bother his chair.
He has started back to cadets and is feeling more independent with his wheels under him again.
He's back with his friends in gym class and is looking forward to returning to the teen dances on Saturday nights, now that he can freely zoom around the room again.
"I can go places without having anyone pushing my chair," Yohan says proudly.
Aissouni is happy her son has his wheelchair back and is able to get back to his normal routine.
She says she is overwhelmed by the number of people who came forward with offers of help when they heard about Yohan's dilemma.
"I thought how wonderful, you know? It was so great to suddenly be hearing from all these people and realizing there are people out there who care about our situation here in Repulse," she adds.
"It's absolutely wonderful, the people who have stepped forward and all the support they want to give."
