Miami Heat purchases new wheelchair for Margate man after his was stolen

'There are good people out there,' Mitchell Braithwaite says

MARGATE, Fla. – The Miami Heat donated a wheelchair to a disabled man this week after his wheelchair was stolen.

Mitchell Braithwaite shared video with Local 10 News of him walking his dog after he received a new wheelchair from the team. 

"You just got to push and press, which is way easier," he said.  

Braithwaite's new wheels, as he described it, were a gift from the Heat nearly a month after someone stole his old wheelchair from his home in Margate. 

"I flipped it back and left it like this, and I left, and I came back and it was gone. I was stuck here, looking at my house, with no way to get in there," Braithwaite said.

Braithwaite was using a sports wheelchair that was uncomfortable and barely fit through the front door of his home. 

Shortly after Braithwaite's story aired on Local 10 News, viewers reached out to help and raised more than $5,000 for a new wheelchair.    

The Heat also stepped up and bought him a customized chair. 

"Their exact words to me were, 'You are family here at the Heat and Miami, so don't worry about it. It’s one less thing for you to worry about this holiday season,'" Braithwaite said.  

Braithwaite described the generosity as overwhelming and said it’s made for an extra special Christmas. 

"There are good people out there that care about me, whether they know me or not," he said. 

Braithwaite plans to use some of the money raised online to buy a second wheelchair.