“It’s a blessing,” Muskogee group provides community with free medical equipment

MUSKOGEE, Okla. –

A Muskogee group is helping people who need expensive medical equipment that might not otherwise be available to afford it.

The program is called Spare Parts, and runs off of a woman’s front porch.

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Helping the Community

The front porch of Cindy McAdoo’s house in Muskogee is a bit different from the others in the neighborhood.

“Standard walkers that fold. Incontinence supplies,” said McAdoo. “A lot of CPAP, oxygen tubing, nebulizer equipment, stuff like that.”

At Spare Parts, people can pick up donated medical equipment.

It’s called Spare Parts because McAdoo also fixes up equipment.

Some items are free to take, while others, McAdoo will help you get fitted for them.

The two sections of items are marked on the porch with instructions.

She took over this program, which started as a church ministry, after retiring from decades in social work.

“We want people to know that we’re here,” said McAdoo. “I don’t have everything. One day I might have it in, the next day I may not. But it is here, it is God’s will that we keep doing and we keep trying to make sure that we have everything available.”

One of the most heartwarming things about this program to McAdoo is these supplies are the gift that keeps on giving.

“When the person gets better, starts coming back and somebody else gets it,” said McAdoo. “That’s what’s nice, is that it lives forever and it’s easy. It’s a blessing to tell people who donate stuff, that memory’s going to live on.”

Increasing Mobility

It’s already been helpful to people recovering from surgery like Chelsea McKnight, who uses a shower seat she got from Spare Parts.

“I’m able to sit on the outside of the shower and slide into the shower without obviously being able to step over because I can’t do that with my ankle,” said McKnight. “So, I can sit and slide and then turn my feet and get into the shower. It’s a blessing because I love taking my showers.”

She said using the program was easy and it’s been a success.

“I contacted my friend and was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to be able to get in the shower,”’ said McKnight. “And she was like, ‘you need to contact Spare Parts.’ So I called Cindy, messaged Cindy, within ten minutes she responded with the appropriate questions to know how to help me. It’s amazing. If we didn’t have this program, I know several other people that would not be able to even get around because they don’t have the money or the funds to get this really expensive equipment. And not all the insurances cover it.”

Spare Parts has also been used by caregivers in the area who work with patients that don’t always have the money to get equipment like this.

“Health is important and we have so many needs, and sometimes it can’t be met with the different forms of insurance, or we can’t afford to buy things out of pocket that will be suitable for our needs,” said Candi Washington, a Registered Nurse and Community Worker with the Christian Ministers’ Union.

She says it’s been a true blessing.

“We can always find a way to help somebody else in our community if we keep our ears and our hearts open,” said Washington. “It’s just exciting to me to know that the Lord can bless different ones using Spare Parts.”

How to Help

McAdoo says she is currently looking for volunteers.

“I am advertising, pleading for volunteers to help me some to help arrange and lift and tote and stuff like that, because I know what the equipment is, I know what it does, but I can’t lift it anymore,” said McAdoo.