Several months ago one of the physical therapists that Keyan sees on a semi-annual basis recommended us looking into getting an amtryke. An amtryke is a tricycle that can be powered by either your hands or your feet. Keyan does not alternate her feet on stairs and she is still running with just an accelerated walk instead of picking her feet up and alternating them up and down.....therefore pedaling a bike is very difficult for her to do as well. This special bike will allow us to strap her feet to the pedals but have her arms (which are extremely strong) do all of the work. She gets to buzz around on a bike and her legs and brain get a great workout and learn to make a cycling motion. It is a very cool concept.
My first thought was that we had to get her one of these bikes but my second thought was how we would ever afford one. This is the amazing part. There is a national service organization called the ambucs and one of there main goals is providing kids with these adaptive bikes. Once I got in touch with our local chapter, they had me fill out some forms and have her measured by a therapist and figure out which bike would fit her the best. We submitted everything a month ago and last week got a e-mail that the bike was in. This organization GAVE her this new bike. They invited us all to lunch, except for Jamahl who was in school, and presented Keyan's bike to her. These were great people!! They were so thrilled to be helping her and were so welcoming to all of us. One of the members had put the bike together so she was able to ride around the room that we had lunch in. As these two men were on their hands and knees making adjustments to the bike while she was trying to ride it, she looked at them and said,"Can I take this bike home?" And when they told her that she could, she immediately raised her arm above her helmet and "yelled" YEA!!!! It was so cute. The bike fits her great and yet gives her some room to grow. She told Poppy that her new bike is "Terrific". Now, if only we could get out of sub zero temperatures so that she could really ride the thing, that would be great.
My first thought was that we had to get her one of these bikes but my second thought was how we would ever afford one. This is the amazing part. There is a national service organization called the ambucs and one of there main goals is providing kids with these adaptive bikes. Once I got in touch with our local chapter, they had me fill out some forms and have her measured by a therapist and figure out which bike would fit her the best. We submitted everything a month ago and last week got a e-mail that the bike was in. This organization GAVE her this new bike. They invited us all to lunch, except for Jamahl who was in school, and presented Keyan's bike to her. These were great people!! They were so thrilled to be helping her and were so welcoming to all of us. One of the members had put the bike together so she was able to ride around the room that we had lunch in. As these two men were on their hands and knees making adjustments to the bike while she was trying to ride it, she looked at them and said,"Can I take this bike home?" And when they told her that she could, she immediately raised her arm above her helmet and "yelled" YEA!!!! It was so cute. The bike fits her great and yet gives her some room to grow. She told Poppy that her new bike is "Terrific". Now, if only we could get out of sub zero temperatures so that she could really ride the thing, that would be great.
She could not wait to try out her new bike!
The wonderful guys making the adjustments so that the bike was PERFECT
And away she goes, with a little help from Abby!
The girls were so excited for her! And yes, McKenzy spent a majority of the time with her hands over her eyes! There is always one in the crowd!!
