Adaptive bikes presented in Waynesburg
Mike Thistlethwaite is all smiles as he helps guide the adaptive bicycle of his son, Jordan, through the halls of Southwest Regional Medical Center on his inaugural ride.
Cassy Henderson of Graysville gets assistance by a representative of the My Bike program Thursday morning at Southwest Regional Medical Center.
WAYNESBURG – Tears and applause marked the occasion Thursday morning when Jordan Thistlethwaite, 7, of Rices Landing, and Cassy Henderson, 9, of Graysville, rode their new bicycles down the hallway of Southwest Regional Medical Center. They received the adaptive bicycles specifically designed for children with special needs from the My Bike program offered through Variety the Children’s Charity of Pittsburgh.
Thistlethwaite and Henderson bring the total of bicycles distributed in Greene County since 2013 through the My Bike program to 20. Charles LaVallee, chief executive officer of Variety, said he hopes to see that number rise exponentially.
It is believed there are more than 130 children in the county who would qualify to receive a My Bike. There currently 250 sponsored-adaptive bikes.
”We just need to identify them. We’re not gonna let those kids be without a bike. We can do this. Let’s do this in Greene County,” LaValle said. “There are plenty of places to ride here.”
The bicycles are designed to grow with the child. They have full trunk support and a lateral harness that can be removed when a child gains more stability. There is a steering bar that allows parents control over the bike from behind. The bikes are even supplied with a stationary stand that gives the children the option of using the bicycle year-round indoors.
LaVallee said, one of the boys who uses the stand indoors, likes to play Wii Baseball.
”While his guys are running the bases he is running (pedaling); he is in the game,” LaValle said.
The bicycles are just part of the programs Variety undertook for children with special needs. In addition to the adaptive bicycles, it is now piloting programs for adaptive strollers and communicative devices through its My Stroller and My Voice projects.
Most families with a special needs child do not have the opportunity to have both a wheelchair and an adaptive stroller and typically choose the more necessary, wheelchair, LaVallee said. The My Stroller program gives these families a chance to receive a My Stroller that allows for easier mobility. Currently, there are limited numbers available as the program is still in the pilot phase.
LaVallee was especially excited about Variety’s My Voice pilot, which utilizes IPad’s to help nonverbal children communicate. He shared stories of a few of its initial recipients.
”One mom called me and she whispered, ‘Charlie, it’s working.’ She is using the IPad and telling her brother what friends of hers were in school,” LaVallee said.
He told the story of a child who somehow got a welt on his back while riding the school bus.
”If your child is nonverbal how do they tell you if they got hurt? Think about that,” LaVallee said. “Shouldn’t every child be able to talk to their mom and say, ‘Mom, my back is hurt?'”
Bringing several people in the room to tears, LaVallee told the story of a grandmother who provided care for her nonverbal grandson.
”She said, ‘Charlie, every morning I give my grandson breakfast.’ Each morning she would make him eggs and she said he seemed to love it,” LaVallee said. “She called me and said she asked him if he wanted eggs and he said, ‘No.'”
She asked what he wanted and he said, ‘pancakes,’ LaVallee said.
”She started sobbing. I told her, ‘You did the best you could with what you knew.’ He can now express his wants, feelings, thoughts, ideas and emotions. It’s a new day,” LaVallee said.
For more information on how to apply for one of the programs, or to become a sponsor of the My Bike, My Stroller, or My Voice programs, visit the Variety the Children’s Charity website at www.varietypittsburgh.org or call 412-747-2680.