‘I really thank him to be so great and give me a chair,’ says Evelyn Austin, who received the present from Wayne after her daughter, Ronda, wrote him encouraging letters in jail. By Mawuse Ziegbe Lil Wayne Photo: Alexander Tamargo/ Getty Images Lil Wayne is making new fans, but this time, it’s not for his Carter hits, it’s for his compassion. When Wayne was riding out his eight-month prison bid this year, he received tons of kind messages from fans. However, the missives — and the plight — of one Weezy acolyte in particular, Ronda Austin, touched him so much that he lavished her family with a much-needed gift: a wheelchair for her mother. In a short film posted on the MC’s WeezyThanxYou blog , Austin describes how her words of encouragement led to the generous present. “One day I was driving down the expressway and my phone rang … Something said just pick up it up. I’m like, ‘Hello?’ and he’s like, ‘Hi, may I please speak to Ronda Austin,’ I said ‘Speaking. May I ask who’s calling?’ and he like, ‘Yes, this is Lil Wayne.’ I said ‘Oh, ok. Who?’ “she laughs. It may have taken Ronda a minute to realize who was on the line, but Wayne certainly knew who she was. She also describes how exactly how her relationship with her famous pen pal blossomed. “The first time I wrote Lil Wayne I just let him know that I support him, and I’m gonna keep writing him until he comes out. Just giving him a lot of encouragement [and] let him know that God is with him and tell him to keep his head up and stay encouraged. I would send him bible verses all the time, just a lot of words of encouragement. I talked a lot about my family, about myself, especially about my mom and my dad, which I love very much ’cause I always talk about my parents. I guess one of my letters must have touched him and he just gave me a call,” she explains. “In the midst of our conversation he said, ‘Did you and your dad get your mom a wheelchair yet?’ and I said, ‘No, we’re still working on getting her a chair. He said … ‘Alright, don’t worry about it.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘No, no, no, don’t worry about … I’m gonna take care of it.’ ” Wayne stuck by his word, and later the film shows representatives from Core Care Technologies, arriving at the Austins’ front door in New Jersey with her spiffy new ride, The Quantum 6000. Evelyn, who had been confined to her home for nearly two years due to weak knees and a sub-par wheelchair, happily tests out the new gift in the streets, as her family looks on. “I don’t know much about Lil Wayne but I’ll tell you that what he’s done, I think it’s a gift,” Ron Manno of Core Care Technologies says. “It’s very rare that you can find an opportunity to do what he’s done.” Evelyn didn’t know who Wayne was before the gesture either, but maintains she wouldn’t forget Weezy’s good deed. “I felt good, I felt really great. I didn’t know Wayne before now, but I do know him now and I thank him. I really thank him to be so great and give me a chair. He didn’t even know me and he got me a chair. I pray and ask God to bless him,” she says. “My mom hasn’t been out the house in the street in years. I just see such a difference in her. She has like, this get-up-and-go about her now. She can get in her chair, she’s more mobile and that means so much to us ’cause me and my dad, we’re doing a lot of things around the house and making my mom comfortable,” Ronda says, getting emotional. “But when she’s up and about, it’s just a good thing to see.” Wayne introduced the post with a short note that also ended with a heartfelt sentiment. “God Bless Austin Family,” Weezy wrote. What do you think of Wayne giving the Austins a new chair? Let us know in the comments! Related Photos The Men & Women Of 2010 Related Artists Lil Wayne
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Lil Wayne Gives Fan’s Mother A Wheelchair
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