BONNEY LAKE, Wash. — Brandi Hanvold has been a greeter at the Walmart in Bonney Lake, Washington, for more than 10 years.
But Seattle's KIRO-TV reports that she was fired last week, and now she is heartbroken.
Public transportation is limited in the rural area where she lives, and the van that picks her up isn't always on time, KIRO reported.
Hanvold suffered a traumatic brain injury 28 years ago when she was ejected in a car crash, the station reported. Her speech, processing and mobility are a challenge, and she relies on an electric wheelchair to get around.
Hanvold said she sometimes resorts to driving her electric wheelchair 4 miles on a treacherous stretch of road, without sidewalks, to get to work at Walmart.
Despite her transportation challenges, Hanvold said that last week, she was told she had missed too many days and was being terminated. Hanvold told KIRO reporter Dave Wagner that she simply wants to return to the job and the customers she loves at Walmart.
"When she got hired at Walmart, we were thrilled to death," Hanvold's mother, Val, told KIRO. "I am still thrilled with Walmart. The fact that they hire people like Brandi, for a mom, is a wonderful, wonderful thing ... so I sing their praises. But to terminate her like they did without any warning — they've taken away her life."
Despite her brain injury, Walmart maintains that Hanvold understands and knows what is going on. The company said Hanvold was made aware of the attendance policy multiple times and failed to comply.