Mar 28, 2013 4 min read

For most kids, a new bicycle is a rite of passage, those first wobbly attempts the beginning of a long journey to independence.

But for the 11 special-needs children who received gleaming new bikes at Washington Hospital Thursday, a bicycle represents the chance to be like other kids.

The children received their bikes through the My Bike program, an initiative by Variety the Children’s Charity to provide children with disabilities with programs and equipment so they can live life to the fullest.

Variety partnered with Washington Health System and Highmark Inc. to launch an awareness campaign in order find local special-needs children who are eligible for a bike.

Jennifer Gilbert of Vestaburg cried as her 7-year-old son, Jackson, smiled and slowly pedaled his red bike forward and backward, strapped in with a harness, bright green helmet firmly secured to his head.

“You’re not only providing bikes, you’re giving (Jackson) an opportunity to participate in an activity that otherwise would be impossible,” Gilbert told Charles P. Lavallee, chief executive officer for Variety. “Exclusion, unfortunately, for our kids is more prevalent than inclusion. To have a bicycle and to be included in an activity that is so much fun is opening up a new door for him.”

Jackson was born with multiple disabilities including Down syndrome, a congenital heart defect, neurofibrobatosis type 1 and Moyamoya syndrome, a disease that affects one in 2 million people and constricts certain arteries in the brain. He has epilepsy and suffers from eight types of seizures, and at 20 months old had two strokes within hours of each other.

“This is something we can do as a family. We’re already planning bike rides on the trails with his brothers,” said Gilbert.

Since the My Bike program was launched in November, Variety has distributed more than 180 adaptive bikes throughout its 10-county service area.

Highmark, which has contributed $100,000 to My Bike over the past two years, and several companies, individuals and groups have raised money to purchase 245 bikes for Variety.

Variety has 65 more adaptive bikes that are ready to be distributed to eligible children, and Washington Health Care, which includes the Children’s Therapy Center, where most of the 11 recipients undergo therapy, is helping to locate kids.

Each three-wheeled adaptive bike costs $1,800 and is custom made to meet the needs of its recipient.

“Every child deserves to have a bike, and every child deserves to ride a bike with his or her friends, and to feel like they are a part of their neighborhood,” said LaVallee. “These adaptive bikes give children with disabilities a taste of freedom, a sense of belonging and the opportunity to have childhood experiences and memories that we want for all of our children.”

Stephen and Jamie Duran of Bulger helped steer their daughter, Chloe, 5, as she pedaled with the other bike recipients in an improptu bike parade that wound its way through the halls of the hospital.

Chloe, who was born 25 weeks prematurely (she weighed 1 pound, 7 ounces and nearly died of a brain hemorrhage) and has cerebral palsy, has long wanted a bicycle. She smiled and giggled, blond ponytail bouncing as she learned to maneuver on her new set of wheels.

“We’re very excited. She’s wanted a bike for a long time and was so disappointed when she didn’t get one for Christmas, but she can’t pedal a regular bike, and we couldn’t afford an adaptive bike,” said Jamie Duran, whose husband, a medic in the U.S. Marine Corps who served in Iraq, is attending nursing school. Duran quit her job as a massage therapist to stay home with Chloe.

The bike also will serve as a sort of physical therapy, helping to strengthen Chloe’s weak legs.

In two weeks, she will undergo a major surgery that may help her walk better, and her mother said the bike will be incentive for her to recover.

“She’s been dying for this bike, and I’m so happy for her,” said Duran. “She’s been a great miracle for us. She’s a blessing. Sometimes she doesn’t realize she has special needs, and we don’t point it out, but now she’s noticing she can’t do things like her cousin Taylor. She plans on riding bikes with Taylor and keeping up with her.”

Anyone interested in contributing to the My Bike Program (any amount will make a difference) or recommending a child who needs an adaptive bike can contact the Variety office at 412-747-2680 or by visiting the website at www.varietypittsburgh.org/MyBikeProgram.asp.