Adaptive bike fair update

We were the first two people to arrive and the fine folks of Emery's were still setting up. I was greeted by Brent one of the owners and then later by Ben another owner. They happen to be brothers and work together to make the adaptations possible. I really enjoyed meeting both of them. Ben reminded me SO much of my dad. He's tall and built like my dad. His personality is much like my dad too. He's crafty in a mechanical way, I was blown away about his resemblance to my dad. I told Bella in front of him that he reminded me of Papa John.

Both Ben and Brent were awesome, they make custom bikes to meet the needs of their customers. I was seriously blown away by some of the bikes they've made for customers. They are incredible. Every child and adult should have the opportunity to do things that so many of us take for granted... like bike riding! Look at all of these amazing bikes, seriously incredibly!

I can't believe such a resource exists and I had no idea it was so close. It's unfortunate that when you go to your appointments with your pediatrician or even to the ortho clinic at Children's that these resources are not given to families. This is the stuff we as parents NEED to know about!

This is similar to the adaptation they would make. The black piece at the top would be curled more to hold her hand steady in place. 

This is Brent working with Bella to show her the adaptation that they were thinking who would for her.  She said that she liked that it was comfortable on her left hand and she thinks it would make a difference. 

How can you not just open your wallet and hand over your credit card. It's tough. I told her that we had to come home and show Daddy and talk to him too. It's hard because I want to give her the world on a silver platter. It's also hard because if we spend the money, I want her to use it. I love the idea of supporting a smaller, local bike shop that does incredible work and truly cares about creating the best fit for their customers.

So what's the cost? For the complete set up on her current bike, it would be about $500. That's a hard number to swallow. It's not a need, it's for sure a want. Or is it a need when you only have one hand? How can we not give her the same opportunity that other kids have? How can we not help her to feel more comfortable and confident on the bike? Are we terrible parents for not just plunking down the credit card? Are we thinking too much into it? Is it truly necessary? Can we help her for a more reasonable cost? What are some other things that we could do? Do you drop any amount of money on your kids for things that you think are necessary? Are they truly necessary? What amount of money is reasonable? Those are all things we'll have to discuss tonight. 

Adaptive Bike Fair

Today, I'm pulling Bella from school a bit to attend Emery's Adaptive Bike Fair. Sometimes you have to treat things like this like they are as important as a doctor or dentist appointment. They don't happen every day... actually there's NEVER been one in the 7 1/2 years of Bella's life. I sent her to school in the morning, I'll pull her around 10:30 and we'll head down there. We'll spend some time with all of the kind folks who have donated their time and learn a thing (or ten!) on how we can help her.

Bella is SO nervous on the bike even with her training wheels. We tried to push her at Camp No Limits this summer to try and she was absolutely against it. Now that the weather has been nice here (what the heck, in February!) the boys have wanted to ride bikes. She rides along, usually screaming at me to slow down and not walk so fast. Yes, I said walk. Why do I walk? Have you ever tried to ride a bike with 3 kids? Luca likes to look at everything in site and occasionally run off into the grass or into a mailbox. Grayson speeds like a lightening bolt. Bella freaks out at EVERYONE to slow down... so yes I walk! Currently, it's far from enjoyable. It's like having someone throw balls at you and you are trying to dodge them but you can't, they just keep hitting you. What can I say? I'm honest!

See that stubborn face? 

So full of personality!

Date day with mom... and clearly a mind of her own!

I'm proud that she's stubborn and passionate. Really she comes by all of that naturally, Ryan and I are both stubborn and super passionate about things. So for her, she's passionate about NOT riding the bike! Which I totally get, not every kid is a bike rider. I'm A-okay with that. What I don't want it to be about her limb difference. I want her to ride her bike if she wants! I want her to feel confident in her ability to get on the bike and go IF SHE WANTS! If she doesn't want to, then that's fine. I want to her to know that I'm stubborn and passionate about helping her in any way that I can. This bike fair, is one of those things. 

Yes, I'm that mom. I'll pull my kid out of school for a life experience. To me, it's worth it. It's worth the couple short hours she'll miss. It's worth it to help her be successful in other ways besides in the classroom. It's important that I give her every possibility that others have already. I have no idea what it's like to go through life with only five fingers. I can only hope that when she's older that she'll realize we did everything we could to help her.